


Frontier

by Rook_385



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, BAMF Jaune Arc, BAMF Pyrrha, Betrayal, Castles, Character Death, Character Development, Death, Developing Friendships, I'm Bad At Tagging, Mentioned Ruby Rose (RWBY), Minor Character Death, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Oblivious Jaune Arc, Original Character(s), Sieges
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26737867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rook_385/pseuds/Rook_385
Summary: "There's got to be something more I can do, the Grimm only ever grew in number, those here in the Frontier need to find a way to combat them if they were going to survive!" These were the thoughts of Jaune Arc, a hunter in the frontier. Little did he know, that he would soon find himself on the frontlines of a secret war that's been raging for a hundred years. One that wouldn't only encompass the frontier, but all of Remnant!Update every Wednesday!
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1: A Day on the Frontier

Chapter 1: A Day on The Frontier

With a yawn, a blue-eyed teen sat up and stretched his arms above him. He smacked his gums for a moment before he climbed out of his bed and put on his tunic, boots, and cloak.

He glanced out the window and saw the sun beginning to climb over the hills to the east of the town. With a small sigh, he grabbed his sword, bow, and quiver before he made his way out of the cottage.

"GOOD MORNING~!" Energetic ginger shouted the volume made Jaune flinch.

Jaune immediately turned to the black-haired teen beside her, "Good morning, Ren, how'd you sleep?"

The two ignored Nora's whine as Ren answered the blonde, "I slept well, I take it you did too?"

Jaune nodded before he turned his attention to Nora, "I take it you got at least a little sleep, though you do look _very_ excited for the hunt today."

"I had an amazing dream!" Nora proclaimed, completely ignoring Jaune's question, "We were in the middle of the woods, hunting when we came across a powerful wizard and we fought against nearly a hundred Beowulf's and…"

"She's been talking about this dream since she's woken up," Ren told Jaune.

"... Then the witch kidnapped the wizard and we went on an amazing quest to save the wizard alongside a massive amount of people!" Nora finished.

With a glance up toward the rising sun, Jaune turned his attention back down to the two, "Let's get going."

The trio made their way out of the town and waved at the town guard when they passed. Jaune glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the town, Crendire, south of the Vale Mountains, and passed the borders of the Kingdoms. While it was by no means a paradise, the nearby river and hills made it defensible from Grimm and bandits.

The only thing it didn't have was supply. While crops had supplied the town for a long time, an increasing population had forced the town to do more in search of food. 

"What do you think we'll catch?" Nora asked in a high pitched voice, "A rabbit?! Vole?! Deer?! OOH!" The ginger's voice suddenly rose, "HOW ABOUT A BEAR!"

"We can't even catch a mouse if we make too much noise," Ren said, his gaze on Nora.

Nora gave a firm nod, "You're correct!" She turned to Ren and smiled, "That's why you two need to lower your voices." 

Jaune smiled at the two, "I'm sorry, I was just super excited." He then clapped his hands together and gave a small bow, "Please forgive me!"

"I'll think about it." Nora mused for a moment with a serious look, her lips cracked into a smile moments later as the group began to cackle with laughter.

The trio would soon lower their voices and speed when they entered a nearby patch of woods. They made their way across a small stream, over a score of large boulders, and past a cave entrance before settling down behind a fallen log.

"I'll stay here and use my bow," Jaune whispered to the other two, "Nora, you brought those traps right?" 

The teen nodded, "I'll head along the edge of the meadow and set them up."

Jaune nodded and turned toward Ren, "You know what to do?"

"I'll be the lookout for any Grimm," He turned his eyes up toward the trees, "I already see a good tree." 

The three then separated, one watched the meadow for any animal that wandered in, another setup traps nearby for small game, while the final one sat high in a tree and watched the area for Grimm. 

There they sat until the sun was high in the sky, Jaune kept his eye on the meadow and waited for any sign of an animal. Finally, around the time the sun began to make its trip down to the horizon Jaune spotted it, a deer. The animal slowly examined its surroundings before leaning its head down and taking small bites of the grass underneath it. 

Jaune watched for a moment before he took an arrow out from his quiver, careful not to make a sound. He brought it to the string of the bow and stood up to his full height, careful to maintain silence. The blonde then pulled the bowstring back to his chest and took aim, the arrow lept from the string upon release and landed in the neck of its target.

The deer fell to the ground immediately and Jaune gave a glance around the area before he made his way over to the deer and glanced up at the tree where Ren was in, he let out a long whistle with a short high pitched end. A similar whistle emanated from the tree and a third from somewhere past the meadow.

Within moments the trio had reunited in the meadow, “That was a very clean shot, Jaune, your skills with the bow have improved!”

“Thanks, Ren!” Jaune rubbed his hand against the back of his neck and a small blush dusted his cheek.

“Let's return to Crendire,” Nora said, “The other hunting parties have probably returned by now.” Jaune nodded and began to carry the deer with the help of Ren. 

The trio began to make their way out of the forest, Nora at the lead and Ren at the rear. They made their way back onto the trail and into the town, from there they entered the cache office.

The man in charge of the food cache turned his gaze on the trio, "I take it this is all you caught today?" 

"We set up traps that we'll check tomorrow," Juane told the man when he and Ren had dropped the deer on the table.

"Alright," the man sighed, "Go to the inn and get a drink, you deserve it." 

"Yes, sir." Ren nodded to the man and led the trio out of the building. 

On his way out a ginger-haired teen bumped shoulders with Jaune, the blonde heard the teen growl, "Ugh! Jaune, watch where you're going!" 

Jaune turned and inwardly sighed at the sight of Cardin Winchester. 

"Sorry, Cardin." Jaune apologized and turned away.

The ginger just smirked at Jaune and made his way into the cache office, a bag full of small game on his back.

As they made their way through the town Jaune saw a couple of boys pretending to be knights fighting against each other. A girl nearby stomped her foot, grabbed a stick, and charged toward the other boys, determined to win!

Nora and Ren glanced at each other as they made their way to the inn. The sun was now nearly down and most of the guards from the day were probably headed to the inn, meanwhile, the Night's watch was getting ready for their shift.

The inn was a two-story building on a hill in the center of town. The first floor was a tavern that usually fed the town occupants, the second floor was full of beds for either travelers or those who had no home to go back to.

They entered the inn to the sounds of cheers and promises being made. Jaune smiled, the Inn always seemed to fill people with happiness. As well as make them drunk.

"Jaune, we're up!" Nora pushed him toward the front of the inn, where a small stage had been erected a few months ago. In its center was a stool, behind it was a guitar. 

With a sideways glance toward his friends, Jaune grabbed the instrument and sat down on the stool. The crowd raised their cups and cheered at the appearance of the musician.

There he began to strum the instrument and create a tune that lifted the spirits of the hard-working men and women that drank their worries away.

It was soon joined by a man in the crowd. This man pulled out a flute, the whistle of it paired with Jaune's guitar, and caused some of the hunters to get up from their seat and start to dance in front of the stage. 

Many followed their example, some got more ale and others ate their rabbit or venison. Somewhere in the inn laughter could be heard, when Jaune's gaze found the source he smiled. 

Nora was spun around by Ren, who had taken the opportunity to dance with him. 

This continued for a couple of hours, Jaune would switch the tune and after a while, the flute's whistle died out. 

As more hunters and workers arrived Jaune gave the guitar to another hunter, who continued to keep the energy in the room up. 

Jaune sat down and ate his food and finished his drink quickly. He needed to be up early tomorrow to check on the traps, with a quick goodbye to Nora and Ren the blonde left the inn.

Jaune closed the door behind him and sighed, tomorrow was going to be a long day. 

He gazed out toward the forest which held the traps, when he blinked he saw a small flash of silver light in the forest. He narrowed his eyes at the forest and rubbed his eyes before he checked again.

He shook his head and cleared his mind before he left the inn and made his way to the cottage. He sighed as he took off his armor and put his bow and quiver next to the door. 

He took his sword and laid it next to his bed.

For most of the night, he would stare up at the roof and think about the light in the forest.

Was he seeing things? Or was that real?


	2. Chapter 2: Light in the Forest

Chapter 2: The Light in the Forest

_A pair of blue eyes stared at the pool of blood in front of him, his head shakily turned upward and toward a drooling jaw of a monster._

_It lunged at him with a snarl._

Jaune screamed and unsheathed his sword from the hilt next to his bed. His eyes darted across the room as he scanned for the monster.

When he didn't find one he sighed and rubbed his eyes.

He hadn't had that nightmare in a while.

\-----

The trio made their way out of the town and into the forest to search their traps and find out if they had caught anything. They had slept in the inn for the past couple days, Nora had drooled on Ren.

Jaune wished he had seen it. 

"What do you think we caught?" Nora asked a hungry glare filled her eyes, "I want rabbit!"

"If we caught anything at all." Ren spoke, "We have been having a harder time catching smaller prey recently."

"Let's stay optimistic," Jaune said as he put a comforting hand on Ren's shoulder.

They finally entered the forest and made their way to the traps, most of which were snares. They found a rabbit in one and a fox in another, as they continued to search Jaune and Ren watched their surroundings.

Grimm could arrive at any time. They were lucky yesterday, they hadn't had to fight one, but with his luck Jaune was nervous.

As if on queue, Jaune could see a mass of black fur through the maze of trees. He was positioned downwind from the trio and atop a small hill. 

The Beowolf had its snout in the air, it had gotten a scent.

Jaune glanced over to Ren and pulled an arrow out of his quiver, it would be best to kill it before it got too close. 

When Ren nodded Jaune took an arrow out of his quiver and began to move to his left. He if the arrow didn't land where he needed it to and things turned ugly he needed to make sure Ren and Nora had time to support him.

Once he was far enough away, Jaune pulled the string back, "HEY, UGLY!" 

The Grimm turned toward him immediately and snarled. Jaune let the arrow loose and watch it land on the shoulder of the beast.

With a small frown, the blonde took out another arrow and began to pull the arrow back when he saw the white claw mere inches from his face. 

Jaune ducked away from the swing, he then stabbed the arrow into the beowolf's foot. 

With a shriek of pain the grimm threw Jaune down the hill and into a small clearing. 

"Jaune!" He could hear the other two scream his name out.

With a groan, Jaune finally stopped rolling. He glanced down to his bow and frowned, it was snapped. 

The blonde turned his eyes to the Girmm, its jaw hung open in anticipation for its meal. 

Jaune climbed to his feet, grimaced, and stumbled forward for a moment. With a glance down to his ankle he frowned, he had rolled it.

With another glance up at the monster Jaune pulled his sword out from its sheath. 

When the monster swiped at Jaune, he sliced the Grimm's wrist off. However, his momentum was immediately stopped when the Grimm backhanded him into something solid. 

Jaune groaned as he fell to his knees, what had he just hit?

Before the Beowolf could finish off Jaune, an arrow slammed into the back of the Grimm's back. When the monster turned to find the source of the arrow it's jaw was hit by a Warhammer. 

Ren and Nora had arrived.

Nora slammed her Warhammer across the monster's body and head, she even managed to separate the bone plates from the body. 

Ren stayed back and continued to shoot arrows into the Grimm's body, all in an attempt to kill it quickly. 

Jaune reached down for his sword, but only grabbed grass. When he turned his gaze down to where he thought his sword would be, he realized he had lost his sword when he was thrown.

From there Jaune slowly stood up and watched as the other two hunters managed to finish off the monster, which promptly turned to dust.

Jaune rubbed the back of his head and hissed, whatever he had hit it was must have been stone. He turned his gaze to the object and froze. It couldn't be?!

It was a stone sculpture of a Beowolf, the accuracy was so amazing it sent a chill down his spine. Jaune's eyes slowly scanned his surroundings, there were scores of them! The blonde began to walk through and inspect the many statues.

Some had cuts, missing teeth, broken claws, and even broken bones! But what caused Jaune to freeze was the shredded white fabric in one of the Grimm's jaws.

Ren made his way to Jaune's side and took the piece of fabric, with a quick inspection he turned toward Jaune, "This is fresh."

Jaune immediately scanned the surroundings once more, this time he found a hint of white in the grass. The same shade as the cloak.

When Jaune made his way over to the white shape he found a woman. She wore a white cloak, black leather breastplate, gauntlets, and boots. A leather combat skirt, and black leggings. She had long shoulder-length black hair that faded to red at the tips and a couple of large scratches across her cheek.

She was unconscious but was breathing.

"We need to take her back with us," Jaune said as he turned to the other two, "I'll have the doctor look at her." 

The two nodded without a second of hesitation.

\-----

When they returned to the town the sun was high in the sky. Jaune had carried the woman back on his back, they needed to get her to the doctor's office. If she was just unconscious then they could deal with that, but if it was something else. He would do what he could to help.

"Jaune," Ren said, the teen in question turned his gaze to the hunter, "Nora and I are going to drop off the kills, We'll meet you at the doctor's."

"Alright." Jaune nodded. 

When Jaune arrived at the doctor's office he luckily found the doctor. Her name was Larissa, she wore a white cloak with a wooden staff. She had long brown hair and a pair of dog ears that matched in color. She turned and glanced down at the red hooded girl, "Where did she come from?"

The doctor wore a long black cloak and held a long wooden staff. She had long brown hair and a pair of dog ears that matched in color. 

"I found her unconscious in the woods," Jaune told the woman.

The doctor leaned in and took a few cautious sniffs of the unconscious woman. With a small hum she brought a hand to her chin, for a moment she was quiet, "I can't smell any sickness… perhaps it's exhaustion, leave her in one of my beds and I'll keep an eye on her." 

Jaune did as he was told and gently laid her down on one of the beds, on his way out the doctor grabbed his shoulder and stopped him, "I'll let you know if anything happens, I know how you are." 

Jaune smiled, "Thanks."

When he exited he was soon met by Nora and Ren, "Is there a diagnosis?"

The blonde shrugged, "Nothing, in particular, she believes it's exhaustion."

Nora smiled, "That makes me happy, now let's get to Job listings, there's got to be something to keep us bu-" 

"GRIMM!" A frightened voice screamed.

The trio gave a glance to each other before they charged down the hill and readied their weapons. They could see the town watch and hunters as they struggled to defeat a large pack of Beowolfs.

They plunged themselves into the battle, and Jaune stabbed his sword into the gut of the Grimm in front of him.

After he had sliced through the Grimm he turned toward the next one. It swiped at him and Jaune immediately rolled to the side and got back to his feet.

He ducked beneath a swing and he swung his sword down onto the monster's arm, it was cut clean off. With another quick swing, Jaune destroyed the Grimm's leg and made it fall into its back.

Jaune adjusted his grip and prepared to finish off the Beowolf, but was thrown off his feet when another Grimm swiped at Jaune's chest.

The blonde was thrown back and felt his leather breastplate fall apart.

Jaune landed and gasped for breath, the air was knocked out of him. The teen clawed back up and hissed at the sharp pain in his lower back, nonetheless he pushed his way up to his feet.

The Grimm charged at him and he jumped to the side, barely able to dodge the attack. 

He turned toward the Grimm, who had fallen face-first into the dirt and stabbed his sword into the back of the Grimm. The Grimm screeched and suddenly began to thrash it's arms around.

Jaune fell backward while trying not to get hit and lost his grip on his sword. The Grimm, now on its feet, turned toward the fallen blonde and snarled. 

Jaune crawled backward, he didn't have his sword and his armor had been destroyed.

He turned away when the monster swiped at him, only able to swipe his cheek. Jaune felt his right cheek and could feel the blood.

The Grimm staggered and took another step, but was thrown off its feet when a sinister mace destroyed its calf. 

Cardin Winchester spun around and sent his mace into the chin of the Beowolf. With a stumble, the grimm fell backward, the tip of Jaune's blade emerged from the chest.

The Grimm soon turned to dust, all but bone remained. 

"Of course I would need to save you, Jauney boy~" Cardin smirked, "Try not to lose your sword next time!"

Jaune looked around and saw the last few Grimm turn to dust. With a sigh, he pushed himself up and began to look for Jaune and Nora.

When he found the duo, they had already looked each other over for any wounds, luckily there were none. However, when Nora turned her head toward Jaune her eyes went wide.

"Jaune!" She ran up toward him and helped him sit down on a nearby barrel, she immediately began to check his cheek.

"Is there anything more than your cheek?" Ren asked.

"I was thrown across the plaza, I think I may have bruised a rib." Jaune winced when Nora touched his cheek, "Luckily, Cardin saved me."

"I give my thanks," a new voice began. The many town guards, hunters, and villagers turned to an old man. He was the elder of the town, Eric Crendire. He had a long grey beard and wore a plain brown cloak. His gaze moved over the entire group, "Without your help, Crendire would have fallen in a matter of moments. However, let's not forget the lives of those who had died while fighting these monsters." He took a small breath, "Tomorrow we burn the dead, wounded report to the doctor."

With that, the place began to move and Jaune made his way to the doctor. He climbed the hill with the help of Ren and Nora and arrived at the doctor's office before the crowd.

The doctor looked at him once and narrowed her gaze, "Get in the bed," she then turned toward Ren and Nora, "You guys should relieve the guards, they need a break."

The two nodded and left the room.

Larissa turned toward the blonde, "Your friend here has started to speak in her sleep." The blonde turned his gaze toward the hooded girl, she was clearly saying something. 

"I heard that there was a pack of Grimm at the gates, that true?" The doctor asked as she looked through her cupboard for an elixir to give the blonde.

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed, now on the assigned bed, "A pack of Beowolfs pushed through the gates before we could do anything, it all happened so fast."

Larissa sat down on the bed and began to rub the contents of the elixir on Jaune's cut, "I assume there are a lot of dead?"

"I'm not sure." Jaune shrugged, "I couldn't see who was wounded or dead, I just hope it's not too many."

"...Salem…" a quiet voice spoke, full of anger.

Jaune and Larissa turned toward the source, the hooded girl. Neither of them said anything, but they both had the same thought. 

What's Salem?


	3. Chapter 3: Isolation

Chapter 3: Isolation

A pair of blue eyes watched as the corpses of those who had defended the town burned to ash. 

"Let those who laid their lives down for their brothers and sisters be rejoined in the Eternal Fires of Sol!" The priest preached to the crowd, "May their bravery keep the Eternal Flame burning, for all eternity!"

"For all eternity." The crowd echoed. With a final goodbye to those who had defended them, the people of Crendire turned and left them to burn in peace.

Jaune found Ren and Nora and nodded toward the southern edge of the town, "Let's get to work, we need to make sure we have food for the winter."

\-----

Jaune plunged his blade into the Grimm and withdrew it with a sigh.

They had been on the hunt for food when they encountered a large pack of Beowolfs. What they were doing so close to Crendire he didn't know, but he didn't like it.

"Let's bring this bone back, it will be a lot of money for when the next caravan comes," Ren told the others.

"When will that be?" Jaune asked while he grabbed a bone plate.

"Sometime in the next few days at most." He answered.

"Well then let's get back to town." Nora smiled as she carried too much bone for herself to carry.

The group took the bone plates and made their way back to Crendire, when they arrived they saw smoke. The trio glanced at each other before they began to sprint toward the town, they could hear the sounds of a battle before they saw it.

When Jaune turned into the gate, his eyes went wide, Grimm had pushed their way into the town once again.

He could already see a large group of warriors torn to shreds all across the plaza. The trio immediately dropped the bone and plunged themselves into combat.

By the time they were finished, Jaune was gasping for breath and roughly forty more bone plates were left on the ground.

"Why.." Ren gasped out, "Why are there so many Grimm?"

"I don't know…" Nora took a deep breath as she leaned on her Warhammer. 

"Six." Jaune whispered to himself, "We lost six people."

Nora glanced at Ren and put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, "Jaune-"

The blonde shook her off and walked away. When the ginger-haired girl took a step to follow him, Ren stopped her and shook his head.

Jaune growled as he walked. He couldn't believe this! He should have been able to do something about this! At this rate, the caravan would arrive at Crendire, and would only find a graveyard! 

There had to be something he could do!

Before Jaune had an idea of where he was going, he found himself inside his house. The blonde dropped his sword on the floor next to the door and leaned against it, he slowly descended until he was on the floor. He wrapped his arms around his legs and pulled them close to his chest.

Why did the Grimm have to hunt humanity? Why did they have to suffer from the wrath of monsters they couldn’t communicate with? 

These questions continued to spin around the blonde as he clutched his knees together. This world was cruel, life was cruel! And yet humanity continued on, and yet…

Jaune’s gaze lifted from his knees and looked toward one of the doors opposite of the stairs to his room. The blonde slowly got up to his feet and made his way to the door of the room, he stood there for several moments. It had been a long time since he had last found himself in this situation. 

He hated the frontier.

He hated death and loss.

He hated it.

He hated the Grimm!

He reached up to the top of the doorframe and grabbed a key. He stared down at it and rubbed off the dust before he put it in the keyhole and unlocked the room. The room in question was dank and dark, the air was stale and filled with dust.

When he entered the room, his gaze immediately found a white shield with two crescent moons made of gold and a sword with a blue hilt resting on a table in the center of the room. The weapons sat in front of an iron breastplate and gauntlets.

Jaune immediately recognized the blade, Crocea Mors, his father's weapons. Jaune made his way over to his father's shield and rested his hand on it.

"Please, help me…" Jaune asked his father, "I need the strength to get through this." 

He closed his eyes, how would  _ he _ help? How would  _ he  _ help Crendire?

When Jaune opened his eyes he made his way out of his house and toward the guards quarters, a large watchtower beside the main gate. There were now a massive amount of claw marks near the door and on the wall facing the gate.

He made his way into the guard's tower and toward the head of the guard, a man by the name of Morgan Bartholomew. He was an older man with a long scar across his face and an eye patch over his right eye, when he heard Jaune arrive he turned toward him.

"Sir Bartholomew, is there a position in the evening watch?" Jaune asked. 

The scarred man narrowed his eye toward the blonde, "Why now?" 

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Why now, why do you want to be in the guard now?" Morgan asked as he made his way to a chair and sat down, "I remember asking you a year ago this same question, you turned me down." 

"That was before the Grimm," Jaune answered.

"Bullshit." Morgan spat, "There has always been Grimm!

"This is-" Jaune tried to protest.

"It's no different than Mountain Glenn, or Mistraal, or Mantle! There are always Grimm, there is always death!" Morgan spoke, "So I'll ask you again, why now?"

Jaune was silent for a moment before he answered, "I want to do more."

Morgan pursed his lips and nodded for a moment, "Report to the top floor of the tower at dusk, you'll be watching for Grimm. If you see any, blow the horn and we'll come running and turn them to dust."

Jaune smiled, "Will do, sir."

\-----

  
  


Nora watched the performance on the stage and took a drink from her cup. It had been a couple of hours since Jaune had stormed off, they haven't seen him since. The ginger turned her gaze to the water in her cup and scanned her reflection, sometimes she wondered if there was another universe where humanity didn't have to worry about Grimm. 

"Stop thinking that," Ren said to the ginger.

Nora glared at him for a moment, "What else am I supposed to be doing? Jaune's hurting and we can't help him, I just feel… worthless."

"He's always like this." Ren began, "He's always been on the losing side."

"We've always been on the losing side." Nora narrowed her eyes toward her friend, "First our village, then Vale, now here!" 

"I know how you feel!" Ren assured her, "I was there, you've let me in to help and I have done the same to you." he took a small sip of his drink before he continued, "We've only known Jaune for a year, he hasn't let us in, we'll offer him our shoulders, but if he doesn't use them then there’s nothing we can do."

"I know!" Nora deflated, "Do you know anything about it? Anything would help." 

"It's something everyone suffers from," Ren spoke, "the death of a loved one by the hand of the Grimm." 

Nora went silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up, "I'm going to go check on the women."

Ren watched as Nora left and sighed, he could tell that it hurt her to wait for Jaune. He needed time to process things on his own and not feel cornered by his friends, Ren glanced at the reflection in his drink and blinked before he finished the drink.

Nora arrived in the doctor's building with a knock, Larissa glanced over and pointed to a small rag, "Can you get me that?"

Nora did so and settled down next to the still unconscious woman. There was still so much mystery that surrounded the girl, both in her characteristics and how she ended up unconscious in the middle of nowhere.

"Has there been anything new?" Nora asked Larissa.

The doctor shook her head as she finished looking over one of her patients, "Nothing."

Nora crossed her arms, "Do you have any guesses on what it could be?" 

The doctor hummed her answer, no clue, she then glanced over to the ginger, "I need an extra pair of hands, get over here and help me."

Nora got up and made her way over. For the next few hours, Nora helped Larissa patch up the wounded. It ranged anywhere from holding a lantern to give the doctor a better view all the way to holding the guard down as a wound was sewn close.

At every step of the way, she squirmed and cringed. She had never been able to stand the look of blood and organs of people, animals were one thing, but a human was another.

Finally, after nearly two and a half hours, Nora sat back down next to the hooded girl. She took a breath and turned her gaze to the doctor, who was working to clean their tools, "I don't think I would make a good medic." 

"You'd be surprised," Larissa said, "I thought the same thing you did, but where am I now?"

Nora opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by a sudden shiver, the air around them had just fallen several degrees. When she took a breath she could see her breath in the air, just like it was winter.

A horn sounded three times, Grimm had arrived. Within moments the sounds of running began as people made their way to the front gate. Nora stood up and nodded toward the doctor, "Let's hope there isn't as many to treat after this."

Just as the ginger took a step forward she heard a shrill scream, "SALEM!"

The doctor and hunter both turned to the woman, she was awake now. She was sitting upright and panting, sweat dripped down her face and terror was clear in her eyes.

Nora heard an explosion outside and ran to the door, her eyes immediately went wide in fear. The evening light was clouded by a sea of Grimm pushing their way through a hole in the wall where the guard's tower once stood.

The battle hadn't even started and yet, Nora knew this was just the beginning.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who else has seen the Vol. 8 Trailer? It's got me hyped to see what happens! Thanks for reading and as always! comments are appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4: "It's time to leave!"

Chapter 4: “It’s time to leave!”

-Five minutes before the explosion-

Jaune made his way up the tower and relieved the guard before him. It was nearly dusk and it was his turn to watch for Grimm. He knew that even a minute's worth of warning could save the lives of many.

He hadn't even been there for two minutes when he spotted movement on the edge of the treeline, a woman. She was being followed by a low fog, which didn't make sense. There had been no fog earlier, why would there be one now?

The woman meandered on her way toward the wall, when she was within fifty feet of the wall Jaune's eyes went wide. He finally was able to get a good look at her. She had skin and hair as white as snow, her hair was up in a high ponytail and she wore a black cloak.

Jaune opened his mouth to shout something down at the woman but stilled when she raised a hand toward the tower. 

Jaune's eyes saw red lights suddenly illuminate inside the fog, no, not lights! Eyes!

Jaune grabbed his horn and alerted Crendire to the threat. He took a breath and glanced down at the woman, her palm glowed with a sinister red light. 

Jaune's eyes went wide, "OH SHI-"

Within a single moment, several things happened. Out of the fog, thousands of Grimm began to descend toward the town. However, the worst of what he saw was a wave a red light ascending to the tower.

The next thing Jaune knew he was on the dirt, with his ears ringing and gasping for breath. He blinked up at the air for a few seconds. Still gasping for air he turned his head to his right and saw the rubble that was the tower, was that magic?

From the rubble emerged a pack of Beowolfs. Jaune quickly got to his feet and prepared his sword, he watched as the Grimm approached him and let out a shaky breath. He could feel his palms become sweaty, with a breath the blonde swallowed his fear and charged toward the Grimm.

He ducked under the Beowolfs swipe and cut its head off with a spin when he got behind it.

He sidestepped another and prepared to charge the third one when he was tackled to the ground. 

He could hear his sword clatter to the ground.

When the blonde saw the Grimm above him raise its claws, Jaune protected his face and prepared for the worst. 

Instead of a claw hitting Jaune, it was the decapitated head of the Grimm. With a groan and several instances of dry heaving Jaune turned and smiled.

Ren stood above him, "Try not to run into a wave of monsters." 

"I'll do my best." Jaune smiled.

\---

Nora watched as scores of people charged into the battle, her gaze searched for a familiar blonde but was unable to find Jaune.

She turned toward the woman, who was attempting to push past Larissa and stand up, "She's here! Let me up!"

"Who's here?" Nora asked a frown already on her face. 

"We don't have time for this!" The woman finally pushed past Larissa and made her way to Nora, "What did you do to my weapons?" 

"We didn't find any when we found you." Nora answered, "Now, who is she?"

The woman turned her gaze to the wave of Grimm charging through the hole in the wall and frowned. She turned toward Nora and sized her up for a moment before she let out a breath, "She's known as the Witch from where I come from, she has the power to control Grimm."

Nora's eyes went wide, "Are you sure that this is her?" 

She nodded, "I've seen it before." 

Nora glanced at the battle and noticed that the defensive line had fallen back a tiny bit. She took a breath, shook her head, and handed the woman a knife, "You can fight, right?"

She nodded, then tilted her head, "What's your name?" 

Nora smiled at the girl, "Nora Valkyrie, nice to meet your acquaintance…"

"Summer," the woman smiled, "Summer Rose." 

Nora's smile lessened for a moment before it returned even brighter than before, "Very nice to meet your acquaintance, Summer Rose!" 

With those words, Nora let out a warcry and charged down the hill and toward the battlefield.

\---

Jaune lunged under the guard of the Grimm. He stabbed his sword into the Beowolfs chest with a satisfying yowl from the Grimm. The blonde pulled that blade out and beheaded the Grimm with a spin. 

When the Grimm fell he immediately had to take a couple of steps backward, another Beowolf swung its claws at Jaune.

When Jaune responded with a swing, he was met with the sound of bone against steel. This was no ordinary Beowolf. It was an Alpha.

Jaune held out his blade and deflected a swing from the alpha. The Grimm roared in irritation, and Jaune saw his chance, he thrust his blade into the alpha's mouth. 

The Grimm slammed his jaw shut just as his blade entered its mouth, sword snapped in two immediately. With what was left of the sword Jaune smacked the now dull end into the Grimm's chest and ducked under a swing. 

He attempted to swing the broken blade into the Grimm's chin but was thrown back by a backhanded swing from the Alpha. He dropped his sword and was thrown off his feet.

When he landed the air was knocked out of him. Why did this have to happen so often? Why was it  _ him  _ that had to be thrown by the Grimm?

He turned his gaze to the alpha and immediately found it closing in on him. 

The blonde got to his feet and glanced downward for his sword, soon realizing that it had been dropped to the floor.

That’s when he realized what he needed to do. 

Jaune stumbled backward, barely able to dodge a swing, and quickly ran from the fight. He could hear the sounds of the Grimm chasing after him, he would need to be quick!

The blonde hopped over a cart and landed with a stumble, but managed to stay on his feet. He gulped when he heard a roar and the sound of wood snapping in two, with a glance over his shoulder he could see the Alpha gaining on him. Jaune locked his eyes with his house and grabbed a small rock, but continued running.

The Alpha swiped at him, barely missing.

Jaune, now close to one of his windows, threw the rock towards it. The window shattered immediately and Jaune leaped through it, his foot caught on the window frame and he rolled to the floor with a groan.

He saw the Grimm bet both hands in the window and begin to pull the wood towards it. The wood bowed and cracked in protest, it then began to splinter. 

Jaune stumped to his feet and ran towards the room with his father's sword. He heard the wood around the window snap away, and the Grimm's growl enters the house.

When he entered the room, Jaune quickly grabbed the sword and began to fit the shield to his arm. His gaze darted towards the doorway in time to see the Alpha demolish the doorway and lock eyes with him. When the Grimm saw Jaune, it began to drool and had a low growl rumble from its throat.

“Okay,” Jaune began, his voice shaking, “Let's do this.”

The Alpha swiped at Juane, claws at the ready. 

The blonde raised his shield but found himself thrown against the wall upon the strike. He barely had time to move before the Grimm charged at him once again.

Jaune pushed himself to his feet and jumped out of the way of the Alpha, which collided with the wall with such force that he went through it.

Jaune made his way to the now shattered wall, he brought the shield up and held his sword at the ready. 

The alpha shook its head and turned back toward the blonde with a growl. 

Jaune let out a warcry and charged toward the beowolf. He ducked beneath a swing and bashed the top of his shield against the chin of the Grimm. 

When the alpha stumbled backward, Jaune swung his sword and got rid of the Grimms leg. With another quick swing, he took off another limb, with his final swing the alpha was decapitated. 

Jaune had a sigh of relief and walked through the hole in his wall to stare at the battle at the base of the hill. Things were getting worse, he could see the perimeter of the battle slowly making its way uphill more and more, they couldn’t last like this. 

“Nice kill, Jaune!” A familiar voice spoke.

The blonde turned and saw Cardin’s signature smug grin. 

“Where have you been?” Jaune asked, “We’re busy losing and where were you!”

The taller teen narrowed his eyes before letting out a short chuckle, “I was evacuating the women who can’t fight and the children.”

“Oh.” Jaune turned his gaze back to the impossibly large herd of Grimm, “We’ll probably have to do the same thing if we’re going to survive.”

Cardin crossed his arms over his chest, “The problem is going to be how to do it without letting the Grimm outrun us.”

“We’ll need to get everyone’s attention too.” Jaune brought a hand to his chin. They couldn’t just turn and run, the Grimm would simply overwhelm them.

“We’ll have a fighting retreat,” Cardin spoke, “I can get my team to spread the word.”

“No, you won’t.” Another voice spoke. The two turned to the source of the voice and Jaune’s eyes went wide.

The woman in the white cloak was awake and walking. Her eyes were focused and determined, “I know a way for us to buy time for an evacuation.”

\---

Ren fell backward and kicked the Grimm he was fighting onto its back and quickly dispatched it. 

He glanced over at the approaching Nora and smiled, “I’m happy to see you’re alright.”

“The woman we saved,” Nora began as she demolished a Grimm that charged at her, “She woke up, her name is Summer Rose.”

Ren kicked a beowolf’s knee in and sliced into its throat with one of his knives, “Where is she now?”

“Jaune and Cardin looked like they were planning something,” Nora paused to jump backward and avoid a strike from another Grimm. she countered with an upward strike on the beowolf’s chin, with a loud crack she broke its neck, “She told me that she had an idea and wished me luck.”

Ren heard a panicked scream before it was silenced. He quickly found the source of the scream and cursed under his breath.

He charged toward the Grimm, tripped it, and killed it. 

“Watch out!” Nora screamed.

Ren turned and was thrown to the floor by a beowolf, and pinned one of his arms pinned to the ground. With a snarl, Ren stabbed into the Grimm in the side of the head. Within moments it was dispatched.

Ren rolled over and tried to push himself up, but fell back down. The arm that had been pinned down screamed in pain. Ren hissed and tried once more, Nora arrived at his side and pulled him to his feet. 

Before either of them could react the growl of a Beowolf suddenly began behind them and in a blinding flash of light, it stopped.

Ren and Nora glanced around and found statues. Why were they surrounded by statues?

All around them, the bloodied and beaten villagers, guards, and hunters stared at the Grimm statues. A horn sounded above them, the crowd of confused warriors turned and saw three individuals.

Jaune Arc, a native of the village. He had a determined glare in his eyes and was now brandishing a sword and shield instead of his usual bastard sword. 

To his right was Cardin Winchester, who rested his large mace over his shoulder and held the horn in his other hand. His eyes and smirk held the same overconfident look to them.

Finally, there was someone who no one except for Jaune, Ren, and Nora recognized. A woman who wore a white cloak, black leather breastplate, gauntlets, and boots. A leather combat skirt, and black leggings. She had long shoulder-length black hair that faded to red at the tips and a couple of large scratches across her cheek.

Cardin’s glare swept over the crowd and he smiled, “Everyone, it’s time to leave!”


	5. Chapter 5: A Look Back

Chapter 5: A look back

A pair of red eyes watched the village, it had been nearly half an hour since the silver-eyed warrior had used her ability on the Grimm.

The witch folded her hands behind her back, they had won this round. 

But if the warrior hoped to save the lives of those around them, she would need to leave them behind, just like she had to the others.

The next round would begin soon.

\-----

Jaune stared at his home, where he had grown up for the past six years. Instead of strong walls and clear windows, it was shattered glass and splintered wood. 

Jaune made his way inside through the hole in the wall. He went up to his stairs and into his room, and with one final glance, he grabbed a backpack and made his way back out of his home.

When he got outside he was met by Nora, Ren, and Ruby. They had gotten bags and whatever food they could find and they were finally leaving Crendire.

Jaune smiled, "You guys ready?" 

"As ready as we'll ever be." Ren gave a comforting squeeze to Jaune's shoulder.

With a small smile to Ruby, the four gave one last glance to the front gate and turned their back to Crendire.

The four made their way out of the now evacuated city and towards the caravan of survivors. All around them they saw abandoned dinners and dropped goods.

Jaune saw a plush rabbit, covered in mud. Jaune frowned for a moment before he made his way over to it and put it in his pack. 

They continued on their way and into the forest behind Crendire, they followed the trail for what seemed like an hour in complete silence. Soon enough, they saw the rear of the caravan and quickened their pace to match them.

Jaune turned to the other three, "I have to find Cardin, we need a plan." 

"Good luck." Nora smiled. 

Jaune nodded and left the three and made his way deeper into the caravan. He saw many hunters limping, some needed to be helped along by their friends and others had exhaustion in their faces. He then found himself surrounded by families that had evacuated earlier, many of the kids hobbled half asleep down the dirt path.

One little girl looked at her father, "Dad, where did mommy go?" 

Jaune watched the father struggle to even respond. 

He walked away before he could hear the answer. He didn't want to.

He then saw one of the little boys had tears rolling down his cheeks, "I want muddy!" The boy cried, "I want him! Where's muddy!"

"We can't get him, Zen." His mother hushed him. Those words only seemed to cause more of a fuss. 

Jaune reached into his bag and pulled out the plush rabbit. He made his way over to the two and smiled at the boy, "Hey, uh... little guy." 

The boy sniffled and rubbed his runny nose, "Do you know where Muddy is?" 

"Is this him?" Jaune held up the rabbit plush. 

With a delighted squeal Zen reached out and snatched the rabbit and cuddled the plush close to his chest. 

His mother glanced over to him and mouthed 'thank you!'

He nodded and smiled at the mother, "Have you seen Cardin?" 

"I think he's at the front of the caravan." The mother answered Jaune.

"Thanks!" He responded with another nod and made his way to the front of the caravan, quickly spotting Cardin's large frame.

Jaune quickly made his way through the caravan and soon found himself next to the larger teen.

"So you finally caught up," Cardin greeted with a glance, "Is there anything we need to talk about, or are you just here to say hi?"

"I'm trying to figure out our next move." Jaune began, "Are we headed to mountain Glenn?" 

"That seems like the best option." Cardin crossed his arms and glanced over his shoulder toward the survivors. They were exhausted, limping, bloodied, and in shock of the losses they had suffered. 

Jaune saw it too, "Let's find a spot for us to rest and mourn, if we continue like this the Grimm won't be far behind." 

"We can't sit and wait for the Grimm, we barely made it out last time." Cardin responded with a shocked look, surprised that Jaune would even suggest it, "If it wasn't for that crazy lady and her eyes, we would have died." 

"You're right, Summer helped us get out of there," Jaune conceded, "But if we keep walking at this pace when the Grimm catches up there won't be much of a fight."

Cardin frowned at Jaune and glanced down to the floor. The blonde watched the taller teen think about his words and sighed. 

He turned to the caravan behind him, "We'll keep going until we see a clearing, there's one half a mile away." He watched the crowd begin to wind up with fear, "When we're there we'll set up a perimeter made up of hunters, town guards, and anyone willing to stand guard."

The crowd began to calm down and spread the word to those further back. Jaune smiled and nodded to the taller teen before he made his way back to the others, all the while making sure that those who needed comfort got a little.

"So we're stopping at the next clearing?" Summer asked Jaune's return.

"We'll be too exhausted to fight the Grimm otherwise." Jaune shrugged and fell back in line with the other two. The four walked in silence, checking behind them for Grimm for the next couple of minutes. 

The silence for that time until Summer turned her gaze to Jaune, "Where are you from, Jaune?" 

The blonde glanced at the woman for a moment before turning his gaze back to the forest, "My family is from the Interior." 

"From Vale?" Summer asked, "It's just that, you look familiar." 

"They lived in the city," Jaune sighed, "At least until my mother and father moved out here, to the frontier." 

"Where are they now?" Summer asked. Jaune's silence was answer enough, Summer frowned and glanced down at the ground for a moment, "You're related to Nicholas and Juniper aren't you." 

Jaune's gaze snapped to Summer, "You knew them?"

Summer gave Juane a comforting squeeze to the blonde's shoulder, "They were amazing fighters and good people, it's… hard to hear that they're gone."

"I've been on my own for so long, it would be nice to know what they were like." Jaune gave Summer a hopeful smile.

The sound of a horn drew the group's attention, they soon realized they had found the next clearing. 

Summer smiled at Jaune, "As soon as the perimeter is made I'll tell you all about them."

The women and children were now making their way to the open space while Jaune and his group sought a spot for the perimeter, along with anyone who could fight. Jaune and his team found themselves watching the trail they had just been on.

"We'll take the first watch." Ren told Jaune, "You can talk to summer." With a nod to Nora, the two left the blonde to talk with Summer.

"What would you like to know first?" Summer asked now sitting on the ground.

Jaune let her question sink in. All his life he had been told about how great his father was, how he was an amazing warrior, and a kind friend to those around him. He had been told a thousand different stories about how he had taken Crocea Mors and defeated any enemy that had hounded Crendire.

With a small sigh, Jaune answered Summer, "What made my father such a great man?"

Summer nodded her head and tapped her cheek with her index finger, deep in thought, "He went out of his way to make sure everyone was alright," She began, "When I was on a mission with him he talked with every villager we came across and helped with whatever he could. It could be helping to put up a palisade or painting a fence." 

Jaune smiled and glanced down to Crocea Mors, "What made him such a good fighter?" 

Summer's smile faded a tiny bit, "Experience."

"What do you mean by that?" He began, "there are no Grimm to fight in Vale, where would he have gotten the experience."

"Vale wasn't always the paradise it's seen as today," Summer answered, "When your father and I were your age there were scores of Grimm still in the plains, and there are still hundreds of them in the Emerald and Forever Fall forest."

Jaune nodded to the answer, "What did my father do before moving to Crendire, at least when you knew him." 

"When I worked with him he was a Huntsman and worked for the Huntsman guild in Vale." Summer smiled she was feeling nostalgic, "Before that, he was a soldier in Vale's armed forces, though I don't know too much of his past or why he left the Huntsman." 

"What about my mother? Do you know anything about her?" Jaune asked.

"Sadly, all I ever knew was that she was also a Huntsman." Summer began to answer, "I know that's how your parents first met and eventually got married and had kids." 

Summer got quiet and took in a breath, "Is… is it okay if I ask what happened to your parents and siblings?"

Jaune froze for a moment and sighed, "It was… it was almost eleven years ago, I was only six." He took a deep breath, "It was in the early days of Crendire when it was more of a hamlet than an actual town. In the middle of the night, a particularly bad Grimm attack began, my father didn't get a chance to get Crocea Mors before one made it in." Summer watched as the teen let out an unsteady breath, "If it wasn't for Saphron grabbing the sword I would be dead."

Jaune felt a comforting squeeze, "You don't need to say anymore."

"What about you," Jaune asked, "What are you doing so far out in the frontier?"

"I am part of a group that works alongside the Huntsman's guild," Summer answered with a glance to the ground.

"What about why you're so far out in the frontier?" Jaune asked. 

"I was asked to investigate the Grimm and their movements," Summer answered after a moment, "I got caught in a small herd, and next thing I knew I was in… Crendire, was it?"

"We found you surrounded by Grimm statues," Jaune began, "Were those real?"

Summer pursed her lips and took in a breath. Jaune watched as she thought about the best way to answer his question, after a moment she opened her mouth to answer, "Have you ever heard the legend of the Silver Eyed Warriors?"

Just as Jaune was about to answer a horn blew in the silent night, the perimeter prepared for battle. 

Within moments the sounds of fighting could be heard, Jaune for his part was already on his feet before he could see the nearest Grimm.

More Beowolfs. Why was it always Beowolfs? Several packs clashed against the perimeter and Jaune prepared Crocea Mors. 

The first Grimm that got close it was quickly taken out with a powerful stab. The blonde quickly saw another Grimm charge toward him. 

The blonde planted his feet and raised his shield, prepared for the beowolf's swing. When it hit, Jaune could feel his teeth rattle in his skull.

He ducked underneath the next swing and stabbed his blade into the Grimm's ankle.

With a roar of pain, the Beowolf swung down at Jaune, only for it to scrape against the blonde's shield. 

With a push upwards, Jaune's shield smashed against the Grimm's chin and made it stumble backward. When it did, Jaune lunged forward and buried his blade into the chest of the beast, turning it to dust within moments.

The blonde looked around for any more Grimm and saw Summer, she rolled underneath a swing and jump onto the Beowolf's back. She took the dagger Nora had given her and decapitated the Grimm with one clean cut. Summer landed on the ground and scanned for the next Grimm, only to find an empty field and bone plates. 

There was no more to fight. Just as quick as fighting had started, it had ended. 

Jaune sighed and stared out toward the woods, "Let's hope that was the scouting party." 


	6. Chapter 6: A Success and Failure

Frontier Chapter 6: A Success and a Failure

Jaune pulled his sword out from the Grimm and turned his attention to the remaining pack, delighted to find the others already turned to dust. He turned back to his team and rubbed his eyes with a yawn. 

It had been three days since they had left Crendire, it had been… rough to say the least. Every night they had been attacked by a few packs of Beowolfs, enough to keep them from getting prolonged sleep. 

"How's everyone holding up?" Jaune asked the group.

"Not too well," Ren sighed, "People need to sleep if this keeps up…" 

Jaune nodded as Ren trailed off, he didn't need to hear the end of it to know where he was going.

"Jaune!" The blonde turned and saw Cardin approaching, "We know where we are in relation to Mountain Glenn."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "That's...good right?"

"Don't be stupid!" Cardin growled, "Of course it's good! There's a nearby town, Glen Mor. I want you and your team to rush over there and ask for help." 

"Can I see the map?" Summer asked.

"What about the perimeter?" Jaune protested, "Won't you be short-handed?"

"The town is close enough to us to make it an easy trip, we would have gotten to it in a couple of days regardless." Cardin shrugged and handed the map to Summer, "If we can get help from them it would be a great help, they could even meet us halfway!" 

"Even if we make it to the town, Glen Mor was it?" Summer began, her gaze on the map, "What makes you think they'll help us?" 

"They have to worry about the Grimm, same as us." Cardin shrugged, "Don't worry about it, just get their help, okay?" 

Cardin nodded at summer and grabbed the map, "You memorized it, right?" 

"Of course!" Summer responded. With that Jaune watched Cardin walk away and left the group to their own devices.

Jaune sighed and turned to the other three members of his team, "You guys up for it?" 

Summer and Ren nodded, Nora cracked her knuckles and grinned, "Let's get going!" 

\-----

Jaune climbed over a rock and glanced up at the sky for a moment, it was almost noon. He grabbed Ren's arm and helped him climb the rock, then Ren turned to help Nora. 

Jaune turned his back to the group and glanced down at the map, Glen Mor was at the bottom of a hill and had a river running through the middle of it. Jaune glanced up and could see a watchtower in the distance, he could also see the river. 

"How long do you think it would take to get there?" Ren asked Jaune, following his gaze.

The blonde looked down at the map and back up to Glen Mor's watchtower. He narrowed his eyes and let out a small hum, "Maybe a day, a day and a half… it's a little tough to tell." 

The terrain between them and Glen Mor was… rocky and woody. It would be quite the hike, even more, difficult with Grimm roaming around.

"I can get Glen Mor's help." Summer spoke up suddenly.

"That's great and all, but how about a quick path to the town." Jaune sighed and folded the map, "If we can't get there quickly then any help would be useless." 

"Let's just get down to the river as quickly as possible," Ren began, "Once we're on the river things should be much easier." 

"Let's do that." Jaune yawned.

As the sun slowly descended toward the horizon and the sky turned from blue to orange the group made their way down the rocky hills and towards the river. When they reached the riverbank they quickly prepared camp for the night.

By the time everything had been put together and they had enough firewood to keep a fire going, the sun had fallen below the horizon.

"Have you ever been to Glen Mor?" Ren asked Summer, "I imagine that in all your travels you must have at least passed through the town."

Summer was silent for a moment, her gaze was on the fire but her mind was somewhere else, "...I've been there before." 

"What's it like? Does it have good food!" Nora leaned toward the woman.

"It's been around a lot longer than Crendire, if I remember correctly it was an outpost for Mountain Glenn." Summer began, "I've passed through and even helped them fight against a Grimm incursion, though that was years ago." 

Jaune glanced down to the fire and took a bite of his ration, he would have preferred rabbit. 

"Was the Grimm incursion like what happened at Crendire?" Ren asked as he took a drink of water from his water pouch. 

Summer shook her head, "Crendire was worse." 

Nora tilted her head with a thoughtful expression, "Does it have to do with that witch?"

Ren and Jaune froze immediately then, with a glance toward each other, turned their attention back toward Summer, "What do you mean witch?"

Summer was silent for a moment, her eyes darted back and forth between the two boys as they waited for an answer. Finally, she sighed, "I mentioned a witch to Nora the day I woke up, there are rumors about a woman who can control the Grimm." 

"Is it true?" Jaune narrowed his eyes, "Is there a witch controlling the Grimm?" 

Summer dropped her gaze to the ground and bit her lip before bringing her gaze back up and making eye contact with Jaune, "Yes." 

"How is this possible?" Ren said to himself, "There's no way someone like that can exist."

"I… I saw it with my own eyes." Summer's voice shook with guilt, "My and I team found her," Her eyes were now wide and her voice had dropped to barely above a whisper, "We fought her and…" 

"Summer," Jaune had heard enough, "You don't have to continue." 

"Why don't you get some sleep." Ren told Summer, "We'll need some for tomorrow's leg of the journey."

"I'll take the first watch." Jaune told the group, "Nora I'll wake you up in a couple of hours." 

"Alrighty!" Nora gave Jaune a thumbs up, she rolled over and fell asleep within a second. 

Jaune wondered how she did it. The blonde shook his head and stared out toward the surrounding area.

\-----

"Jaune," Summer shook the teen awake, "It's almost dawn, we need to get going." 

Jaune blinked himself awake and shook his head, "I'll get the others up, can you start getting things together?" 

Summer nodded and grabbed one of their cups and made her way down to the river and scooped up some water.

While she did that, Jaune pushed himself up and made his way over to Ren and Nora. He shook the two, "Ren, Nora, we need to get moving." 

Ren opened his eyes and sat up within a second, Nora snored even louder than before. 

The blonde opened his mouth to try his luck against Nora a second time but was interrupted by the hiss of the campfire being doused. 

Nora shot up and smacked her forehead against Jaune's, with a yelp the blonde fell backward and clutched his forehead. 

"Is it time to move?" Nora asked Jaune, blinking in confusion at how he was rubbing his head.

"Yes, Nora." Juane said through gritted teeth, "Get packed up, we still have a long way to go."

Jaune got to his feet and put his things away into his backpack, with one final check around the campsite the group of four began to follow the riverbank toward Glen Mor. Just as they started to get a move on, Jaune stopped and turned back toward the brush just beyond their campsite. 

He felt like they were being watched. 

He narrowed his eyes for a moment but shrugged and kept going. 

It must have been his imagination. 

For the next couple of hours they four continued upriver and stayed as close to it as they could, however, large rocks and fallen trees made it harder than he would have liked. 

Every so often Jaune would glance over his shoulder into the brush. He didn't know why, but a… chill continued to run down his spine, no matter how much he tried to shake it off. 

"So Nora," Summer began, "Are you from Crendire too?" 

The ginger shook her head, "Nope, Ren and I are from Mistral."

"Mistral?" Summer blinked in surprise, "How did you end up on the frontier, or Vale for that matter?" 

"Well…" Nora began to struggle for words.

"Our village was destroyed by Grimm," Ren answered, "When we arrived in Vale, they sent us out to the frontier. Too many refugees."

"Oh," Summer turned her gaze back to the river bank, "That's… too bad, the Huntsman guild could use people like you,  _ all _ of you." 

Jaune's ears perked up at those words and he turned his eyes back to the group, "What is it that the Huntsman do anyway, do they just hunt Grimm?" 

"They do other things," Summer began, her pace slowed as they approached a large rock, "We'll need to climb this one," She turned to the hunter next to her, "Ren, I'll give you a lift." 

The older warrior cupped her hands and helped Ren up, the only sign of strain was a small grunt.

Summer turned toward Nora, "Your Tu-"

Summer let out a piercing scream and stumbled backward, her hand grabbed her shoulder. 

She had been struck by an arrow.

Jaune immediately pulled Crocea Mors from its sheath and transformed his shield and turned toward the bush. 

"Summer are you okay?" Nora asked the woman. 

"I-I can't move!" Summer spoke, fear in her voice.

Another whistle began and Jaune raised his shield. Within an instant the sound of an impact against his shield, then the clatter of an arrow falling to the ground. 

When he lowered the shield he could see a woman. She had Amber eyes and long black hair and wore a red cloak with steel gauntlets and boots. She had a sheathed sword on her hip and had a quiver full of arrows, she held her bow just in front of her with an arrow drawn. 

"Who are you?" Jaune called out to the mysterious woman. Jaune could hear Ren draw the string of his bow above him, "We have you outnumbered four to one." 

"Answer him!" Nora yelled. 

"My name doesn't matter." The group watched as the woman put the arrow back in its quiver, "You won't have to worry about it for long anyway." 

With a small twist, the bow came apart and formed two blades.

Before Jaune could even blink the woman lunged at him with a swing and the blonde's head. 

Jaune raised his shield but stumbled backward. He grits his teeth in annoyance and pushed back against the strike before stabbing at the woman. 

She smirked and ducked beneath the attack.

With a single kick from the woman Jaune's 

feet left the ground and he was thrown into the rocks behind him. 

He gasped for air,  _ 'who the hell is this?' _

Nora charged at the woman and made a diagonal swing toward the woman, he leaned backward, dodging the swing. 

She parried a second swing with one of her swords and lunged toward Nora with the other. 

Ren shot an arrow and hit the woman's hand, which caused her to drop the sword and clutch the bleeding appendage.

She growled and pulled the arrow out, then held out a hand toward Ren. 

With a sinister howl, an orange light formed beneath the hunter. Ren dove off the rock just before the spot when up in flames. 

The woman held her other hand out, no longer harmed, and prepared to end another blast toward Nora. 

Jaune lunged forward and swung down at the woman, she sidestepped his attack. 

He spun around and swung again with a yell.

She ducked underneath his swing and smirked at him.

Nora Charged forward and swung her Warhammer at the woman. 

The woman raised her sword and parried the strike with a stumble. 

Jaune and Ren charged toward her at the same time.

With an annoyed glare, the woman dropped her sword and outstretched both hands, creating a fiery shockwave that threw the three teens against trees, rocks, and even sent Nora into the river, all of them losing their weapons.

"Cinder," Summer gasped, still clutching the arrow, "I thought Salem had the guts to come after me herself." 

"Not everyone gets an audience with the queen." Cinder smirked, "Besides, this was all a test of my training." 

"Good job, you won against three teenagers who don't have combat training," Summer spat at the woman, "Salem must be so proud."

Cinder narrowed her eyes, "Any final words?" 

A warcry began as Jaune got up to his feet and charged toward Cinder. 

The raven narrowed her Amber eyes and shot a fireball toward the teen, who ducked beneath the shot and tacked the woman. 

Cinder scratched, punched, and slapped Jaune, who responded in kind. 

With an angry scream, Cinder rolled on top of Jaune and shot a shockwave toward him, forming a small crater around the blonde's body.

Jaune felt as if he was stuck between an unstoppable force and an unmovable object at that moment. He couldn't breath and he could feel several ribs crack in the instant he was thrown into the ground. He gasped for breath and tried to move, only to cry out in pain.

With the combatants now unconscious, or unable to move, Cinder turned back toward Summer.

"Jaune!" Summer began, "Let my daughter know, Let her know that I tried to protect her! Let her know that I tried to make it back home! Tell Mountain Glenn-"

With a flash of orange light and a blood curtailing scream, the fight was over and Jaune's vision faded to black. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, leave a comment, and let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7: Arrival at Glen Mor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, life's gotten really busy and I forgot to update. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 7: Arrival at Glen Mor

Jaune groaned and grit his teeth, his body pulsed with pain. He rubbed the side of his face with his hand and slowly opened his eyes, and immediately noticed the wooden roof above him. 

He shot up and cried out in pain, "Yep, that would be the ribs!" 

He clutched his midsection and grit his teeth as he scanned the room around him. It was a long corridor with tall stone brick walls and a wooden roof, there were several other beds with many more wounded men and women. A couple of beds down, Jaune could see Ren and Nora still asleep. 

He sighed in relief. However, that doesn't explain where they are. 

Jaune pulled off his covers and struggled to his feet, that's when a slight breeze made him shiver. He looked down and his eyes went wide, "What happened to my clothes?" 

The door to the room opened with a creak, "So you're awake."

Jaune turned his gaze toward the source of the voice and looked them up and down, what he saw surprised him. A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and dark brown eyes stared at Jaune with a kind gaze. She wore a breastplate that exposed her chest and leather boots that went up to her mid-thighs. She had a brown waist cape and held a spear in her right hand.

"Done checking me out yet?" The woman smiled.

Jaune glanced away and blushed, "How long have I been unconscious?" 

"A couple of days," The woman began, "We found you in the woods just down the river, looked like quite the fight." 

"What about Summer," Jaune's eyes went wide, "did you find summer?" 

"Depending on what she looks like?" The woman narrowed her eyes, "Is she in this room?" 

Jaune did another look scan of the room and who was in the beds, none of them was summer. His eyes fell to his lap as his memories returned to him, she was gone.

"The only people we found were you, the boy with the purple streak in his hair, and the girl with ginger hair." The woman began, "Who was Summer?" 

Jaune was silent for a moment before his eyes moved to meet the girl's gaze, "A friend." 

The woman tilted her head and sighed, "My Name's Coco, what's yours?"

Jaune sighed and smiled, "Jaune." 

"Nice to meet you!" Coco smiled and turned away toward the door for a moment but stopped, "Your caravan is safe." 

Jaune smiled as he heard her close the door. They had made it safely.

He would get out of bed with a groan and begin to make his way down to the ground floor, where he then entered the town square with a hiss. His body didn't like him moving around. However, his frown turned to a smile at the sight in front of him. 

The caravan had made it. 

Scores of townspeople made their way through the palisade gate and into the city, Jaune caught the eyes of several people and made his way to the front of the caravan. 

“Where the hell were you!” Jaune cursed his luck at the sound of Cardin’s voice. 

Jaune looked over his shoulder and saw Cardin stomping his way over to him, he took a deep breath and turned toward the larger teen, “We got… sidetracked.”

Carding grabbed Jaune’s shirt and pulled him off the ground, “Sidetracked?!”

“We were attacked,” Jaune began, “If it wasn’t for Coco and her team, we’d probably still be in the countryside still.”

Cardin burned a hole into Jaune’s gaze before a sigh escaped his mouth and he dropped him back to the ground, “Are the other three okay?”

Jaune glanced down to the ground, “Ren and Nora are still unconscious and summer…”

Cardin frowned and grabbed Jaune’s shoulder, “At the very least the caravan got here, get some rest, we all need it.”

Jaune nodded at Cardin and watched the larger teen make his way back to the arriving caravan and began to give orders and check on the wounded.

The blonde smiled and turned back toward the building he had come from when he glanced up toward the balcony, familiar brown eyes gazed down at him. The woman, Coco, smiled and gave a nod to the blonde. 

As the hours passed Jaune found himself staring out the window that was next to Ren and Nora's bed. The sun was now heading below the horizon and it would be dark soon, hopefully, the Grimm wouldn't arrive. 

"It looks really bad." Cardin's voice broke the silence, "Who could have done this, you three were some of the best fighters Crendire has?!"

"Hunters, maybe." Jaune protested, "I don't know anything about fighting."

Cardin leaned his back against the wall next to Jaune, "So what happened during the fight?" 

Jaune glanced toward the brunette, "We lost."

"I want to know how." Cardin countered.

"I think it would be a good thing to know what happened and what caused you to lose," Coco spoke, entering the room. 

Jaune glared at the two of them and sighed, "Fine." 

He turned and leaned against the windowsill behind him, with a small breath he began to recount the fight. He recounted the way the woman, Cinder, if he had heard Summer correctly, wipe the floor with them. The frustration was clear in his voice, but as he got closer to the end his voice filled with sadness.

He paused and swallowed the growing lump in his throat. 

He recounted how powerless the trio was, how she had used her power to keep them from interfering. How even when he had tried his best to stop her, she overpowered him, how even when Summer cried out for mercy Cinder didn't care. He finished with Summer's final words.

"Tell Ruby that I'm sorry." 

Those words caused Coco to perk up slightly, "Hang on, Summer's daughter is named Ruby?" 

Jaune let out a shaky breath and nodded, "Yes she is, do you know her?" 

"When I was sent out here I heard the guild leader talking about her," Summer began, "Something about wanting her to join when the time comes."

Jaune sighed, "I'll need to get to Vale eventually and let her know." 

"Why not just send a crow?" Cardin suggested.

Jaune turned his gaze to the floor, "It… it just doesn't feel right." 

The room grew quiet and Jaune noticed as Cardin furrowed his brow in confusion and shook his head, "There's still something I don't understand."

"What?" Jaune sighed, he didn't want to continue this conversation.

"How was she able to throw you guys away without even touching you?" The brunette asked, "It seems like magic to me."

"It's not." Coco rejected with a shake of her head, "Have you ever heard of Aura and Semblances?" 

The two shook their heads in confusion.

Coco sighed, "This is going to be a long talk, grab a chair." 

The two pulled the chairs closest to them and sat down, preparing themselves for anything.

Coco pulled a chair out in front of her and sat on it backward, her gaze on the two teens, “Essentially, your aura is an invisible shield, that can be unlocked in a multitude of ways, the most common way is for someone to unlock it for you.”

“You said it was like an invisible shield, how does it work?” Jaune questioned.

“You can use your aura to protect yourself from the Grimm, it can also heal your wounds and strengthen your weapons and armor.” Coco answered, looking toward Jaune, “Which would explain how that woman managed to fight off four people.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t just skill?” The blonde asked.

“Even an experienced fighter would struggle in a four to one fight,” Coco began to explain, “By the way you described it, she didn’t even struggle.”

“What about semblances, you mentioned them, didn’t you?” Cardin asked.

“I did.” Coco nodded, “A semblance is a power that everyone has that’s unique to that individual. Some may be similar, but not the same.”

“Do you have a semblance?” Jaune asked, intrigued.

“I...do,” Coco answered, missing a beat. 

Jaune immediately recognized the pain in her voice, her semblance hurt her in some way. Whether it was embarrassment or something else, he wasn’t sure, but he would make sure to avoid it.

“What’s your semblance?” Cardin asked, not having picked up the hint of pain in her voice.

Jaune inwardly facepalmed, of course, Cardin hadn’t picked up what he had!

“I…” Coco hesitated, ‘I can amplify the power of dust.”

Cardin smiled, “that’s cool!”

Jaune nodded in agreement, “Do you know other semblances?”

“Yep,” Coco answered, a delighted undertone began to fill her voice, “One of my teammates has a semblance that lets them copy the fighting style of her opponent.”

“That would give them an advantage in a fight.” Jaune smiled.’

“Where is your team?” Cardin asked, swiftly changing the subject.

“Two of them are at Mountain Glenn,” Coco answered, “There has been a massive herd of Grimm recently, they needed reinforcements and my team was in the area. The other one is scouting the safest area back through to Mountain Glenn, he can handle himself.”

“What were you doing this far east of Mountain Glenn in the first place?” Cardin asked, “There’s nothing here but Grimm and independent villages.”

Coco was silent for a moment before answering, “There is more to this area than you would think. However, my team and I were tasked with surveying the area and finding a good place to set up a frontier base for the Huntsman guild, it would help extend our range and curb the rising Grimm numbers.”

Before the two could ask another question Coco stood up and stretched her hands above her head, “Get some sleep, hopefully, your friends will wake up tomorrow.”

Jaune watched as the huntress walked out of the room and bit the inside of his cheek, there was something she was keeping from them. Her response to Cardin was enough to prove that. He shook his head and turned his attention back to his friends, “Cardin, go make sure everyone is doing good, I can keep an eye on them.”

Cardin got up from his chair and nodded, “Alright, if you need anything you know where I’ll be.”

Jaune nodded and let the brunette make his way out of the room. Once Cardin had left the room he sighed and made his way to his bed.

Aura’s…. He wondered if he had already been unlocked if he could have saved Summer. He shook his head and blew out the candle, it was no use thinking of this right now, he just needed to get to sleep.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! As always please leave a comment/review it makes my day!


	8. Chapter 8: Reflection and Drawn Out Hopes

Chapter 8: Reflections and A Look Down the Road

\-----

*Trigger Warning *

This chapter contains a panic attack I'll put an asterisk before and after it so you can skip it if you want. 

It will look like this 

*****************

Other than that enjoy the chapter!

\-----

Jaune narrowed his eyes on the large stag in front of him and drew the bowstring, he took a deep breath. He released the arrow and let out the breath at the same moment. With a whistle, the arrow pierced the air and landed in the deer in front of him, with a cry the deer began to run. 

Another whistle filled the air as a second arrow left the bushes and landed in the stag, downing it in a single shot. 

Jaune stood up and made his way over to the Stagg, he was soon joined by Cardin who flashed his confident smile at Jaune, "Pretty good shot there, Jauney boy!" 

Jaune rolled his eyes, "I'll stay with the kill, you can bring the sled over." 

Cardin nodded and made his way back into the forest to grab the sled that they would use to bring back the stag. 

Jaune sat down beside the kill and let out a huff. 

He didn't like the quiet, everything seemed too...still. Just a week ago Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Summer were fighting for their lives against a crazy woman. 

He had watched Crendire, his home, get destroyed by an endless wave of Grimm. 

Yet here he sat. In a new town, pretending that nothing was happening, pretending that children hadn't lost their mothers and fathers, pretending to be the same person he had been in Crendire.

It was the same, the quiet, it was the same as Crendire. 

*****************

Jaune began to shake.

It would repeat itself, after all the saying was 'history repeats itself!'

Jaune felt his palms get sweaty and he took several rapid breaths in and out.

He didn't want to see Ren and Nora get killed! He didn't want to see everyone he knew get ripped apart by the Grimm!

Jaune's breathing got even more rapid and he clutched his chest, it felt like his heart was going to explode! 

He took several rapid breaths, why did his throat feel so tight?!

The world began to swirl around him, he could hear the screams of those he loved. He could hear the pain and suffering!

"Jaune run!" His mother screamed.

"Nora!" Ren screamed

"...une!"

"Ruby," Summer's final words began to fill Jaune's head, "I'm sorry…" 

He could feel goosebumps form on his skin, he began to shake and his breathing only got worse. 

"...aune!" A voice pierced the chaos.

Jaune felt a hand grab his shoulder and give a comforting squeeze, "Jaune! Take a deep breath." 

*****************

The blonde took several short shallow breaths but managed to get a deep breath after a moment, when he did, his surroundings returned to him. 

He saw Cardin kneeled in front of him, "Take a deep breath, you're having a panic attack." 

Jaune took several more deep breaths and felt himself calm down. 

The brunette smiled, "Do you want to talk about it?" 

Jaune shook his head, "No, let's just get this stag back to Glen Mor."

Cardin frowned as Jaune stood up. With a shrug he stood up and began to help Jaune get the stag onto the sled, they had to get back to Glen Mor before sundown.

\-----

By the time Jaune and Cardin had made it back to Glen Mor the sun had nearly fallen below the horizon. 

The two made their way to the temporary shelters for the refugees, a small tent city that had been erected outside the palisade walls of Glen Mor. Far enough away that any sickness wouldn't spread to the city but close enough that they could evacuate into Glen Mor if there was a need. 

Jaune and Cardin made their way to the makeshift hunter's tent and skinned the stag. After the stag had been skinned and the different parts of the animal had been cut up they took some of the meat and put it on fire to fry them. Everything else was smoked for the following day or was salted and preserved for later. 

Cardin handed Jaune a plate of three fried pieces of venison, "Here, one for you and two for Ren and Nora." 

Jaune nodded to Cardin and made his way through the tent city and toward Glen Mor proper. 

On his way through the felt a small pull on his pants, he turned and saw a little boy staring back up at him. He was covered in bruises and had dirt all over him, Jaune knelt, "What is it, little buddy?" 

"Hey, Shaun" Jaune smiled and didn't mind the little boy mistaking his name, "Can I have a bit of your food?" 

Just as the boy finished pointing to Jaune's plate his stomach growled and he blushed. 

Jaune smiled, "Here, take mine!" 

He grabbed his fried venison and handed it to the boy. With a cheer the boy gave Jaune a quick hug and ran back to a nearby tent, Jaune's gaze followed him. 

What Jaune saw made him frown. The boy had immediately given the venison to his older sister, she looked bedridden and had an infection on her calf. 

Jaune took a deep breath and stood up, Ren and Nora needed some warm food. 

He continued through and made his way to the gate into the city. He stopped next to one of the guards, "Can you let one of your doctor's know that there are a couple of people who still need medical attention."

The guard nodded, "I'll let them know." 

With a nod to the guard, Jaune made his way into the infirmary and to the now awake Ren and Nora. He was happy to hear they were awake, he had received the news just before setting off on his hunting trip. He would have gone to them right then, but the refugees had needed him. 

Jaune shook his head and cleared his mind of those thoughts, with a smile he opened the door to the duo's room and was immediately tackled onto a wall. 

Nora buried her head into his chest, "Jaune! I was so worried!" 

Jaune glanced over the ginger toward Ren, who simply smiled at him. With a returning smile he glanced down to Nora, "I was too, but we're safe now!" 

"Summer…" Nora began, "It wasn't your fault that she…"

"How much have you been informed about?" Jaune asked.

Ren flashed Nora a look before answering, "Other than that we're in Glen Mor and that the caravan arrived safely nothing." 

Jaune nodded, "Let me grab a chair, I'll clue you in." he turned to grab a chair but stopped, "Oh yeah, this is for you." 

He handed the two their food and prepared to tell them all the information he had. 

\-----

They were surprised to hear that there was a huntress in Glen Mor, but not so much when it came to Aura and Semblances. They had heard rumors of such things before they had arrived in Crendire, much to Jaune's surprise. However, the news of their proximity to Mountain Glenn created a flash of dread on Ren's face. 

"It's crazy to hear that the Huntsman's guild is planning on making a branch outside of the Kingdom." Nora began with a sigh, "Imagine how many villages would be protected."

Ren smiled and nodded to himself. 

Jaune opened his mouth to speak but turned his head when the door opened, checking to see who it was.

Coco walked in and smiled at Jaune's now awake friends. Behind her was a dark-skinned man with several scars over his skin and clouded eyes. He wore a dark red leather cuirass, a type of armor that protected just the torso, below the cuirass he wore black pants and leather boots. He had metal gauntlets and had a pair of short swords sheathed on his hips. 

"Good to hear that you're all awake now!" Coco smiled at the group, "This is Fox, one of my teammates, the one who was scouting Mountain Glenn." 

Jaune smiled, "Nice to meet you!" 

Fox nodded in Jaune's direction and turned his head toward Coco, who was pulling out a chair toward the three. 

“So, I will be returning to Mountain Glenn in a couple of days,” Coco began, “I’d like to stay longer but from what Fox told me they’ll need all the help they can get.”

“What’s happening at Mountain Glenn?” Ren asked, sitting up.

“There is a massive herd of Grimm heading to the Eastern Barrier,” Coco answered. 

The Eastern Barrier was the main wall which protected Mountain Glenn, which had no natural barriers like Vale did. The barrier, according to what he’s heard from caravans and the like, had walls that were eighty feet tall and had the best of the best soldiers standing guard. For them to be recalling Huntsman and Huntresses… the herd must have been massive.

“Something was unusual though,” Coco began. Her words grabbed Jaune’s attention, “The Grimm normally come from the Northeast, this herd was coming from the south and were made up of mostly Ursa and Beowolfs.”

Jaune’s eyes went wide and he turned his gaze toward Ren, “Do you think?”

Coco’s eyes switched between the two and with a sigh she asked the million lien question, “What do you know about the herd?”

“We don’t know much, in all honesty,” Jaune said as he turned his gaze back toward Coco, “But if the theory holds up it's the same herd that attacked Crendire, our home…”

Coco narrowed her eyes, “What are you not telling me?”

Jaune glanced around the room and took in a breath, “When we were attacked there was a woman, she… she looked like a Grimm.”

Coco glanced over to Fox and then leaned forward toward Jaune, “Anything else?”

“The Grimm didn’t attack until after she blew a hole in the wall…” Jaune said after a moment, “It was almost like she was controlling them!”

Coco glanced at Fox and let out a breath, "Ozpin will want to hear about this won't he?"

Fox blinked at Coco, who let out a frustrated groan, "Yeah, your right." 

How Coco and Fox were communicating when only one of them were talking, he didn’t know. At this point he didn’t care, he’s seen much worse things.

Jaune glanced over at Ren and Nora, both of which nodded. They had a determined glare in their eyes. He nodded and turned his attention back toward Coco and Fox, “We want to go with you to Mountain Glenn.”

The Huntress crossed her arms and chewed the inside of her lip, thinking over his request.

Jaune knew they needed this, to avenge the lives of those who had died in Crendire. If they didn’t do this the parents who had lost their children wouldn’t get revenge on the Grimm, the children who had lost their parents would always wonder if the monster who had ripped their family apart would return.

“No.” Coco finally spoke, “It's far too dangerous and you have people to look after.”

Jaune stared at the two, his mouth agape, “But-”

“Look at the shape you guys are in!” Coco practically yelled, “Still injured and underfed,” She turned her gaze to Jaune, “You don’t even have armor!” 

Jaune opened his mouth to protest but the huntress continued.

“I would love to, but it would be irresponsible to do so, you are too inexperienced and if worse came to worse and you got injured…” Coco trailed off for a moment, “I don’t want the deaths of three amazing people on my hands.

With that Coco stood up and made her way out of the room.

Fox hesitated at the doorway and glanced over his shoulder, “Good luck.”

The three watched with wide eyes as they were left alone. They had been rejected by the people who they thought would understand them, Jaune grit his teeth and slammed his hand on the chair’s armrest.

How could they reject them?! They had to know what they were going through, why didn't they want them at their sides?

“Jaune, breath.” Ren cautioned.

Jaune stopped and took a breath, “Thanks, Ren.”

“So what are we going to do?” Nora asked the two.

“They had a point,” Ren brought a hand to his chin, “The caravan needs our help.”

“But what about Summer’s daughter?” Jaune began, “What about the witch and whoever that crazy lady was?”

“We need to make sure Vale knows about them!” Nora nodded.

“I guess it’s decided then.” Ren smiled at both Jaune and Nora.

The blonde smiled and looked out the window and toward the location of Mountain Glenn, “We’re going to Mountain Glenn!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked that chapter! Feel free to leave a comment!


	9. Chapter 9: The Journey Begins

Frontier Ch.9 - The journey begins

Cardin's indigo colored eyes stared at the empty hospital room and frowned, "Those idiots!"

A couple of miles away, Jaune climbed over a log and gleaned back at the direction of Glen Mor, they had left almost three hours ago, after grabbing what they knew the refugees could spare. Mainly a couple of pieces of salted meat and an old leather cuirass for Jaune since he had broken his during the battle against Cinder.

He shook his head and turned to follow Ren and Nora up the hill.

When they got to the top of the hill the trio gazed westward and narrowed their eyes. They could just barely make out the mouth of the Vale Valley, it was still a few days walk away. With a sigh, Jaune turned to the other two, “We’ll continue through to sundown, then we’ll set up camp and sleep until tomorrow morning.”

The two nodded and began to make their way down the hill. Jaune scanned the area around him and shivered, he felt like someone was watching him.

Hours later Jaune sat with his back to the fire staring out toward the night sky. It was silent except for the crickets chirping and owls silently hooting. The blonde sighed and sharpened his blade, his thoughts drifted toward the wall, how were things going there? Were they suffering casualties? Or were they holding on?

\-----

Mountain Glenn

\----- 

"Empty the buckets!" A man in a light leather cuirass ordered. Within moments buckets full of flaming tar were tipped over the wall and onto the sea of Grimm beneath.

"Keep firing!" He continued to fire, "Fire at will, reinforcements from Huntsman's guild will arrive in two days! We need to hold until then!" 

The man grabbed a spare bow on the wall and launched a flurry of arrows into the herd beneath him. 

The combination of burning tar and an endless volley of arrows turned scores of Grimm into piles of dust. However just as the Grimm disappeared another wave crashed against the wall, several began to claw at the wall attempting to climb it. 

The man turned away and pointe to the nearest officer, "Wake the second battalion early, we'll need them at this rate!" 

A scream behind the man caused him to turn around and find himself face to face with a Beowolf. 

Several others of its kind ascended and killed the soldiers on the edge of the wall. 

The Grimm swiped at the man, who ducked beneath the swing and grabbed the mace on his hip. 

The man swung upward with the mace, annihilating the Grimms chin, and with a following downward swing, he turned the Beowolf to dust. 

He turned toward another Beowolf but smiled when he saw a dagger cut off the Grimms head. The man Huntsman responsible for the kill turned toward the man, his long greying black hair fluttered in the wind for a moment before he cracked his signature cocky smile, "Tai, I thought you were going to get serious!" 

"Try leading the defense of a city," Tai responded with a stressed smile, "I assure you, I'm more serious than you could ever be!" 

Qrow watched as Tai gazed out to the wilderness beyond the battle and sighed, "Tai, keep your head in the game! Summer will be fine, she can handle herself."

Tai glanced over at Qrow for a moment before turning back to the battle in front of him.

\-----

JNR found themselves walking along the main road to Mountain Glenn. They had awoken at dawn and had immediately packed up and resumed their trek. Since then they found a dirt path with a sign with directions to nearby towns and Mountain Glenn. All but the latter had been crossed out. 

"Ren!" Nora whined, "How much longer?" 

Ren stopped and turned around to face the ginger, "A day at least." 

Nora screamed to the sky, cursing Remnant for being too large. 

Jaune smiled and studied the area around them. It reminded him of the night, it was very peaceful and quiet.

Too quiet. 

Jaune reached for his sword and saw a figure just in time to raise his shield and block the arrow. He cursed his luck, "Bandits!" 

The moment those words left his mouth a few figures left the cover of the brush and charged toward the trio. 

Jaune unsheathed his sword and raised his shield. His blue eyes scanned their opponents. They were all wearing torn cloth and scratched weapons and their eyes shined with a familiar light, fear.

Jaune frowned but prepared for battle nonetheless. 

The first opponent charged forward and swung his sword downward toward Jaune’s head.

The blonde raised his shield and sent his sword through his opponent's ankle. When the man screamed Jaune brought up his leg and kicked the opponent to the ground, “Stay down!”

He glanced toward Ren and Nora, who had already dispatched their foes with small slashes, enough to make these fearful fighters stop fighting and lick their wounds.

Jaune turned his gaze back to the bush, “I know that you all aren’t bandits, the fear in your eyes says it all.”

A second group came out of the wooded area and stared at the trio, some with fear on their face, others with nothing but anger. Finally, an older man in worn leather armor and with two bastard swords emerged from the brush, his cold blue eyes burned holes into Jaune’s skull, “You don’t know us, young one!”

“I know you’re not bandits!” Jaune spoke, lowering his shield, “What happened to turn you to this?”

Ren and Nora were soon beside the blonde, carefully watching the group in front of them.

“When the Grimm arrived your filthy guild turned tail and ran!” The older man pointed his sword at Jaune, “You will pay for your comrades' cowardice!”

“Wait a moment!” Ren raised a hand toward the group, “We’re not part of-”

“Don’t listen to them!” Another voice in the crowd shouted, “They’re just trying to cover their asses!”

Before the trio could do anything to stop it, the crowd charged toward them. With one glance at each other, they raised their weapons and prepared for a fight. 

Jaune immediately raised his shield and took the hit from the older man, his teeth rattled in his skull and he stumbled backward. Jaune’s eyes widened at the strength of the old man. 

Jaune raised his shield above his head and took the brunt of his opponents downward slash, he dropped to one knee. Without a moment of hesitation, he slashed the man’s calf, which caused the man to step away with a large limp.

“For someone who’s claiming not to be a huntsman, you are putting up a good fight!” The man smirked, “Maybe you’re lying after all?”

“This is what got us into this fight in the first place,” Jaune growled as he slammed the pommel of his blade into the jaw of one of the villagers, “Tell them to stop, you’ll only bring Grimm here!”

“Wouldn’t be the first time!” The main raised his sword and lunged at Jaune, who, with a step to his left, only suffered a small cut on his arm from the change. 

Jaune turned around to face the old man once again when an arrow landed in the ground between them. The two glanced down at it than in the direction that it had come from, only to find a group and twelve people. 

The one leading the group was the one who had shot the arrow. Jaune knew just from his height and build that the man wouldn’t be someone easy to fight. He wore a silver mask over his eyes and had two horns on either side of his scarlet hair, he had a black leather quilted jacket with long sleeves that was closed with several buckles going down its torso, he wore pants and boots with a similar color scheme as his jacket. 

Jaune glanced down to the man's hip, which held a long sword of some kind, though the hilt didn't look like the usual longsword you would've found in Vale. 

Next to him was a woman with long black hair and a pair of cat ears. Her amber eyes pierced Jaune's with curious energy. She wore a white cloak with a black cuirass, pants, and boots. She had a sword on her left hip and a dagger on her right hip.

Everyone else in the crowd was wearing similar armor and was sporting regular weapons. Some had broadswords, while others had Katanas, at least one of them had a massive Nodachi.

“He’s right.” The Faunus in front of the group spoke, “The herd that had most likely wiped out your town is still nearby, it would be better to help you evacuate and get behind the wall at Mountain Glenn.”

“Who are you to order us around!” The man shouted, “You don’t know the trouble we’ve been through!”

“Yes, we do.” Nora chimed in, “At the very least us three do,” She corrected herself, “We had to evacuate from our home, Crendire, thanks to a Grimm horde, now we’re on our way to Mountain Glenn to help put a stop to the horde.”

The old man was about to argue when another villager put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, “We welcome the advice,” She turned her head toward those around her, “If any of you wish to go to the safety of the wall, follow these three. If you wish to stay, get out of the way.”

All of the villagers made their way to the side of the road, the anger has given way to clarity. The woman gave a sad smile to Nora, “You had to leave your home, we are choosing to stay near ours.”

The trio nodded and turned away after a moment. Jaune glanced at Nora and Ren then at the group of Faunus making their way toward them, “Are you guys headed toward mountain Glenn?”

The woman with cat ears nodded, “Come with us, we know a cave system that will get us behind the walls in less than a day, it's what Huntsman and Huntresses are using to get in and out.”

The three nodded to themselves and followed the group.

\-----

For the remaining portion of the day, Jaune and his group continued to follow this group and found themselves in a small valley by the end of it. With the sun falling behind the mountain the large group made camp and hunted for what they could, eventually finding a rabbit, fox, and a large number of berries from a bush. 

After a couple of hours, the food was ready and they began to dig in. 

Partway through the meal, the cat eared woman glanced up to Jaune and frowned, “What are your names?”

Jaune was caught off guard for a moment, but swallowed what he was eating, “My name is Jaune Arc.”

“Lie Ren.” Ren nodded with a kind smile.

“Nora Valkyrie!” Nora cheered.

The woman gave a small smile in return, “My name is Blake Belladonna, this is Adam Taurus.”

“So why is your group heading to Mountain Glenn?” Ren Questioned. 

“A lot of people inside the interior don’t respect faunus, we want to show them what we’re made of,” Adam responded. 

“I’m sure that helping to defeat the horde at mountain Glenn will be a good way for recognition.” Jaune smiled.

“We’ll see.” Adam spoke, his gaze on the fire, “I’m taking watch.”

With that, the teen stood up and made his way to a nearby boulder, where he could watch their surroundings.

“So are we close to this cave?” Jaune asked, “We’re close to the Glenmore mountains already.”

Blake glanced down at the fire, “We should be arriving sometime tomorrow afternoon, so finish your food and get some rest, you’ll need it.”

With that Blake finished her meal and made her way to her spot. 

Jaune glanced at Ren, confused about the sudden change in tone, but shrugged and glanced up to the shattered moon.

He wondered to himself, was his journey already close to its end, or was it just beginning?


	10. Chapter 10: Tunnel Snakes

Frontier Ch. 10 - Tunnel Snakes

_ Jaune walked through a burning township, smoke clung to the air, and burned his throat.  _

_ He coughed into his hand and continued through the burning town. Throughout it, there were remnants of the people who had lived there. He saw an unfinished meal here, a half sewn cloak there, in what looked like a blacksmiths shop there was a half-finished sword with the blade still red with heat.  _

_ “Where am I?” He thought to himself. _

_ He made his way through the burning town and soon found a single body. They wore a black cloak and had and had what looked like an arrow sticking out of their shoulder. _

_ Jaune frowned and made his way over to the body. He could see the figures back rise and fall with shallow breaths, with a slight hesitance he grabbed the figure’s shoulder and turned them over slightly. When he saw her face he jumped back, it was Summer! _

_ Jaune went white with shock and stared at the woman. Wasn’t she dead, hadn’t Cinder killed her?! _

_ “...remember…” She uttered, “Remember the promise…” _

Jaune’s eyes snapped open and he looked around with a start. He was still at the camp from the day before, with the group of Faunus. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

From there he got up from his spot and grabbed his sword and shield, he would spend the time before they move out training his skills with Crocea Mors. Who knew when he would need it.

As he made his way down the hill the sounds of clashing blades made themselves known. Jaune continued down until he found Adam and blake, the two going through a sort of morning sparring match.

Adam swung his katana in a downward slash, Blake answered by deflecting the blade with her sword and stopped her dagger just short of his neck.

Adam sighed and stepped back, “You win.”

“Want to have another try?” Blake smirked.

“I want to see what this human wants,” Adam spoke, turning his gaze to Jaune, who now felt as if he was being examined with a telescope.

“I-uh, I was going to train a little bit, but then I saw you two sparring and I didn’t want to interrupt.” Jaune nervously answered.

“I’ll spar with you.” Adam spoke, “We’ll be dealing with Grimm in a couple of hours, I want to see how well you can fight.”

“Uh, okay.” Jaune agreed.

He made his way so that he was across from Adam and took his sword out of his sheath, “Go easy on me.”

“No promises,” Adam said with a small frown. Jaune could feel Adam’s cold gaze from behind his steel mask. 

Adam brought his sword up and held it out at an angle.

Jaune raised his shield in front of him and took a nervous breath before taking a few steps toward Adam.

Adam held his position and didn’t move a muscle.

Jaune glanced at Blake for a moment, who wore a blank expression before turning his gaze back toward Adam, who still hadn’t moved. 

With one final step toward Adam, Jaune lunged toward the Faunus with a stab from his sword.

Adam sidestepped the stab and sent his elbow into Jaune’s cheek.

The blonde stumbled backward and brought his shield up to cover his head from a downward slash from Adam.

The katana slammed against Jaunes shield, the blonde’s teeth rattled in his skull from the weight of the attack. 

Once more Jaune took the weight of Adam's strike, this time it was a diagonal strike toward his left shoulder. 

When the third swing came on his right, Jaune pivoted to block the swing and spun with a swing toward Adam's neck. 

Before the blonde knew it, Adam and he had switched places. 

The Faunus swung at Jaune's left shoulder again, and when the blonde blocked the attack Adam stepped into Jaune's and guard and kicked him to the ground. 

Jaune tried to get up but Adam pointed his blade down toward the blonde's neck, "I win."

"No point in arguing that," Jaune smirked. When neither laughed at his joke Jaune frowned. 

"There were two big things that you did wrong." Adam told him, "You left yourself wide open multiple times, and you let me dictate the pace of the battle." 

"I'll have to work on that." 

Blake looked up at the sky and crossed her arms, "It's time we moved on, we need to reach the tunnel by dusk."

Adam left Jaune on the ground as he made his way over to blake, "Let's get moving."

\-----

Mountain Glenn

\-----

Coco sent her spear through a beowolf and kicked it back over the top of the wall. She turned to her next Grimm and quickly worked to dispatch another it. She swung the blunt end of her spear behind the Grimm and knocked it off its feet, in the next moment she plunged the spear into the Grimm’s chest and turned it to dust.

“Coco!” A familiar voice spoke.

The brunette in question turned and saw a Faunus in brown leather armor with a metal bo staff, she had two large bunny ears. Coco smiled, “Velvet, it’s so good to see you again!”

Velvet hugged her comrade and pointed to the eastern side of the wall, “Yatsuhashi is helping a group of soldiers over on that side of the wall.”

“Fox is on the other side, helping to hold there.”

A terrifying screech from some of the soldiers brought their attention back to the battle around them.

A score of Grimm had climbed up the wall once again, but this time a group of nevermore were circling overhead. Some of them began to shoot feathers down to the wall, killing many soldiers instantly.

“Archers!” Coco began, “Focus your fire on the nevermore, Spearmen, cover the wall don’t let any get through!”

With that, the huntsman charged back into the fray, fighting against darkness itself.

\-----

Jaune stared at the large tunnel in front of him. It was large enough that an entire army could move through it if they wanted. The blonde shook his head free of those spots, he had a job to do!

“How long are we going to be going through the tunnel?” Jaune asked Blake.

The cat glanced at him for a moment and sighed, “Probably half a day at a good pace.”

Jaune smiled at the Faunus. It was Nora who asked the next question, “So why aren’t we going through then?”

“We’re waiting for the guides to let us through,” Adam answered, irritation clear in his voice.

As if on cue a group of fifteen soldiers made their way out from the cave. They wore bronze armor and had red capes, in the front of the group was a tall man who wore a large bronze helmet which covered most of his face. He, like the entire group, was equipped with a spear and a shield. 

"Welcome," He greeted, "I am Leon, the leader of the Bronze Company. I take it you are here to answer the call to defend the Mountain Glenn?"

"Yes, we are," Jaune nodded.

"Then follow us." Another one of the soldiers spoke. This one was a woman, she had long scarlet hair and vivid green eyes. Jaune nodded to the woman and followed the rest of the group into the cave. 

For what seemed like hours they made their way into the abyss, the only light source being the torches that the bronze company had lit. Throughout the cave, Jaune could see tiny pieces of iron peaking out of the rock.

“Shouldn’t this have been mined by now?” Jaune asked one of the soldiers, the redheaded girl from before.

“If it had, the tunnel wouldn’t exist, it would have collapsed a long time ago.” She answered.

"So," one of the soldiers began, "Are all of you from the frontier?" 

"Yes," Jaune responded.

One of the soldiers laughed, "Of course the faunus would, no civilized place would allow a faunus inside its borders, not unless they were a slave." 

Jaune saw Adam growl in response and glance over his shoulder toward one of the larger faunus in their group.

"They're animals after all," Said another, a mocking tone in his voice, "Need to be careful of them spreading sickness."

Jaune watched as the large faunus pulled out a dagger and brought his arm back.

"Watch out!"

The knife pierced the bronze armor and embedded itself in the soldiers back, with a scream the man fell to the ground. 

Within an instant, most of the faunus charged the Bronze Company. In response, the Bronze Company had turned around and created a shield wall. 

"Wait!" Blake cried out to her comrades, "Stop! What are you doing?" 

"Adam!" Jaune unsheathed his sword and pointed it toward the faunus, "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm showing them what we're made of!" Adam growled, hostility clear in his voice.

"There are other ways to do that!" Jaune frowned, "By killing them all you'll do is make things worse."

"Humans never understand…" Adam frowned and lowered his katana, "Your kind has never been enslaved, your kind has never known true hunger, your kind is not treated like trash and thrown into gutters on the daily," his frown turned into a scowl, "Your kind has never been massacred for wanting equal treatment!"

With a sudden swing, the Katana slammed against Jaune's shield.

The Blonde pushed the katana off and lunged at his opponent, blade outstretched.

Adam spun on his heel and kicked Jaune in the chest. Jaune gasped for air, the air had been knocked out of him. 

"You saw how outmatched you were when you sparred with me this morning, stay down."

Jaune could hear Ren and Nora fighting, as well as the Bronze Company, he took in a breath and got back to his feet. 

Jaune grit his teeth and charged at Adam.

The faunus swung at Jaune's right side, the blonde parried with his sword and slammed his shield into the faunus's chest. Jaune forced Adam into the wall of the tunnel, successfully knocking the wind out of Adam.

The blonde took a step back and brought back his sword, "Adam, tell them to stop."

The faunus turned his gaze up toward Jaune. 

Before the blonde could react, Adam threw a rock at Jaune. The blonde dropped his sword and clutched his head, a scream filled the cave.

"Adam!" Blake yelled, "Stop this!" 

Adam pointed into the tunnel, toward mountain Glenn, "Their people are the ones who threw us in cages for generations, and you want us to spare them when they're stuck in a cage?" 

"It isn't right!" Blake pleaded, "Please, don't do this!"

"Blake…" Adam caressed the girl's cheek, "I knew you wouldn't understand." 

With a backhanded slap, Blake fell to the ground. She grabbed her dagger and stabbed Adam's foot, "Stop!"

The faunus kicked Blake, "You know as much as I do that this needs to be done!"

"Are you crazy!" Jaune pushed himself up to his feet, the left side of his face was covered his blood, "She's your friend!"

"She's the one who doesn't understand!" Adam yelled, pointing to her gasping friend.

"This isn't how you get results!" Jaune protested.

"I disagree." A new voice spoke. 

Silence filled the cave as the final of the Faunus attackers had either been incapacitated or killed. As a result, all eyes turned toward the new figure, a woman with a flame in her palm.

Jaune's eyes went wide.

Nora growled, "Cinder." 

"I'm surprised." As Cinder spoke, pairs of red eyes filled the abyss behind her. A herd of Grimm! As the sinister red light filled the area, the Bronze Company ran past Jaune, Ren, Nora, and the others and formed yet another shield wall. Leon turned to the redheaded soldier from before, “Phyrra, take these four and use your semblance to close the gateway behind you! We’ll hold them off for as long as we can!” 

Ren grabbed Jaune and Nora grabbed Blake, Leon watched as Phyrra led them into the darkness and collapsed the cave behind them. He closed his eyes and turned toward the woman named Cinder and her herd of Grimm, “Bronze Company! Hold position!”

As the five ran from the collapsing tunnel, it became a tomb for fourteen brave souls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, feel free to leave a comment!


	11. Chapter 11: Mountain Glenn

Chapter 11: Mountain Glenn

Jaune fell to the ground and gasped for air. All around him he could hear the echo of combat, orders being yelled out, soldiers carrying them out, and roars from the Grimm.

Behind him he heard a loud crack, when he had mostly regained his breath he stood up and looked at the tunnel exit. Which was now rubble. 

"Who was that?" Phyrra asked, having caught her breath. 

Jaune turned toward her and lost his footing for a moment, just before falling over he was caught by Ren.

"That woman's name is Cinder," Nora answered, " she is insanely strong and almost killed us once before." 

Phyrra nodded and looked the trio up and down. Blake grimaced as her Aura began to heal her wounds and followed Phyrra's gaze. The deadhead furrowed her eyebrows, "Why isn't your Aura healing your wounds?"

"Our Auras…." Jaune clutched a hand over his mouth, barely stopping himself from puking.

Ren rubbed his back and turned his gaze toward the redhead, "We don't have them unlocked." 

"You're from the frontier, correct?" 

The trio nodded.

Phyrra smiled at that answer, "The Huntsman's guild may not like it, but because of the circumstances I think I know a way to help you, coincidentally enough, I have to go there right away." She turned and began to make her way to a large stone citadel nestled at the back of the valley and looked over her shoulder, "Follow me!" 

Blake sat down against a nearby tree, "I'll catch up."

The redhead nodded and continued to guide the trio toward the citadel.

\-----

Tai stared down at a map of the fortress, on the wall, and inside the fortress, there was a score of white pawn pieces. Outside and to the east of the wall was an almost endless amount of black pawn, scores of rooks, several bishops, and six tower pieces. "How much longer can we hold out until reinforcements get here?" 

Tai's gaze found a man in chainmail with a green overcoat which had an emblem of a pair of golden axes crossed over one another. This man was Peter Jadis, the commander of the soldiers of the southwest of Vale. He held his helmet against his hip and stared down at the same map. He frowned and rested his helmet atop the table before leaning forward and grabbing four white Knight pieces and resting them in the Glenn mountain range.

"According to the most recent ravens, the fifth Knight regiment shall arrive within three days, however, they are being cut off because of bandits and deserters." He stood up straight and crossed his arms, "At our current rate of loss I suggest pulling back to the citadel and having the citizenry evacuate to Vale proper." 

"One problem." Qrow spoke, "There is no way to have a rearguard protect the retreating troops. Any rearguard would get cut apart within minutes."

"He's right." Tai sighed, "We're already on the brink of a breach, unless we get aid we are stuck in this brawl." 

Suddenly a bloodied and gasping Coco ran into the room, "Sir Xiao-Long, eight Goliaths have been spotted in the distance, we estimate a day until they arrive." 

"Thanks, Coco," Tai gave a small nod, "Find your relief, get some rest." 

"Yes, sir!" Coco bowed her head for a moment and turned to leave when she froze. 

In front of her was one of the Bronze Company soldiers, and the trio she had left in Glen Mor. While Ren and Nora looked a little battered, covered in dust, and tired it was Jaune who caught her eyes. The blonde was leaning on Ren and looked as if he was struggling to stay on his feet.

"Coco!" Nora grabbed the brunette and gave a spine crossing hug, Coco wheezed for air.

"Sir Xiao-Long." Phyrra saluted the older warrior, "I bring three capable warriors who I believe you could help." 

"They don't look capable to me." Peter gruffed.

"A little help from Sir Xiao-Long is all they'll need." The redhead countered.

Tai glanced at Qrow and gave a slow nod. At that, the raven sighed and turned toward the commander, "Let's get some fresh air." 

Peter frowned but followed Qrow nonetheless. Coco glanced at Tai, but with a nod from her superior, and she followed the other two.

When Tai saw the three he gestured to the chairs, "Before I help you, why did you come to Mountain Glenn?" 

Jaune was the first to respond, "We want to settle a score."

Tai raised an eyebrow at the blonde, who was looking sicker by the minute. "What type of score?" 

"We…" the redhead began, she glanced to Jaune and when for a moment they stared at each other. Tai could tell they were having a silent discussion. After a moment longer, she turned her head back to the blonde, "Do you know a huntress by the name of Summer Rose?"

Tai froze.

The trio glanced at each other.

The blonde Huntsman fell back into her chair, "Please tell me, how do you know her?"

"She…" Jaune began through deep breaths, his eyes briefly glanced toward Ren and Nora, "She had helped save our village when a massive herd of Grimm attacked our village. She also saved us from an attack by a crazy fire magic-wielding witch."

"Where is she now." Tai's gaze burned into Jaune's. 

Jaune could tell, Summer and Tai were a couple or at the least, she meant a lot to him. The young blonde bowed his head and swallowed his sorrow and looked Tai in the eyes, "I'm so sorry."

Tai closed his eyes and took in several deep breaths. His chin quivered for a moment before he straightened it out, "Phyrra, take them to the infirmary and have them get some rest, then I will summon you later for a report."

With another salute, Phyrra took the three out of the room and took them down the hall.

Tai's breathing began chocked and ragged ad he dug into his armor and took out a necklace with a small white rose petal.

With tears streaming down lowered his head and clutched the necklace against his chest.

"Damn it!" He cried out.

Damn it!" He muttered through sobs.

"Damn it!"

\-----

Around twenty minutes later Jaune, Ren, and Nora had been laid down in the infirmary, which was filled to the brim with groaning and bleeding soldiers, all in need of musical attention. 

"The doctors will take care of you, get some rest." Phyrra told the group, "I need to report back to Commander Jadis, he needs to know what happened in the tunnel."

She didn't wait for the trio to respond and immediately made her way out of the infirmary and toward where she believed Commander Jadis would be, the watchtower.

As she approached the tower she noticed that it had been fortified since the last time she had seen it. Where a once solemn tower stood on a hill, there was now a massive array of defenses. A palisade wall with towers and ballista and an armed garrison had arrived around the tower. As for the tower itself, she could see messenger pigeons and ravens flying to and from the wall that stopped the tide of Grimm. 

When Phyrra arrived at the top of the tower she saw Jadis move several chess pieces closer to the wall and looked up at her, "I believe it's time that you told me what happened to your company."

Phyrra told her all that happened, from when they collected Jaune and Adam's forces to the arrival of Cinder and the final stand the Bronze Company surrounded by a collapsing tunnel.

When she concluded Jadis had turned his head back toward the wall and held his hands behind his back, "The Bronze Company were some of the best soldiers I have ever seen, if they believed they had to go down fighting I suppose they had the right judgment." 

"Sir, what are we supposed to do," Phyrra asked, "Is there any word of reinforcements?"

Jadis sighed, "If reports are to be believed, three days." 

Phyrra frowned for a moment and opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when the general raised his hand, "Get some rest, you'll be sent to the wall later today."

Phyrra saluted her superior and made her way out of the tower. 

\-----

Blake stood up from her spot underneath the tree and turned toward the sounds of combat. Even from her position many yards away from the fighting, she could still hear the barking of orders, clash of steel, and screams of pain. 

She stood up and made her way to the wall, she unsheathed her sword and began to make her way up the stairs.

"Incoming Beowolfs!" Shouted a soldier, followed by a scream. 

"Edwards!" Blake heard another yell. In the next moment, a corpse fell from the wall, claw marks having pierced his breastplate, the look of terror still fresh on his pale face. 

Blake was up on the wall in the blink of an eye, replacing Edward's spot. She ducked underneath the swing of a Beowolf and stabbed her dagger into the side of the Grimm's knee. With a quick spin, she decapitated the monster in front of her. 

"Who are you?" The to her right soldier asked, he gasped for air and had sweat dripping from his nose. His sword had been dulled to the point where a wooden club would have done a better job. 

Another howl alerted Blake of the incoming Grimm. She threw her dagger into its throat and jumped into its chest. With a series of quick thrusts and stabs, she reduced the Grimm to nothing but dust. 

"Wow." The soldier was was a lost for words, "I could ne-"

"Watch out!" Blake warned the soldier. 

The man turned on his heel and raised his shield, with a loud bang he blocked the strike from the Beowolf. Blake could hear the crack and the scream that followed.

Within seconds the Grimm had been destroyed, she then turned around it the soldier and recoiled when she saw the broken arm, which was facing the wrong way.

"Get out of here!" Blake waved him off, "I'll handle things here!" 

She turned back toward the Grimm and quickly dispatched them, turning them to dust within moments. 

When she turned to the soldier who had broken his arm, he was now standing and had fear in his eyes. She followed his gaze and realized two things. 

One, it was quiet. 

Two, the Grimm were retreating. 

The endless sea of the Grimm had turned and ran into the forest in front of the wall, all that was left on the ground were the corpses of soldiers and bones of slain Grimm.

Blake didn't know what was going but knew that it was bad. Grimm normally aren't this coordinated, something was off.

\-----

Elsewhere, in the interior of Vale, a hand grabbed the parchment that was bound to the leg of the Raven and unfolded it. 

_ Dear Ozpin,  _

_ I am full of dismay and have to inform you that the queen has been sighted and seems to be in command of the Grimm forces assaulting the walls. We once again request the royal southern army's support, if the current status of the fighting remains, we will last only half a week. _

_ I hope this reaches you,  _

_ Tai Yang _

Ozpin sighed and folded his hands together, "If only it was that easy…" he whispered to himself. 

With a frown on his face be stood up from his chair and made his way out of the chambers and toward the royal court. 

He had work to do.

  
  
  



	12. Chapter 12: The Battle for Mountain Glenn

Frontier Chapter 12: The Battle for Mountain Glenn

"The Grimm retreated?" Jadis couldn’t wrap his head around it, the Grimm never ran away. They would only attack until they were dead or too exhausted to continue. For the past week, they had relentlessly attacked, leaving thousands dead from exhaustion or wounds. 

The soldier who brought the message had a hopeful smile, “Do you know what this means?”

“It’s nothing good.” Jadis told the soldier, “Get any men who can fight, I suggest that we prepare to fall back to the citadel.”

“Sir?”

“We saw a couple of Goliaths on their way, if they get too close they’ll be able to destroy the gate..or even the wall itself.”

“But the Grimm, they retreated!” The soldier frowned, “We’ve won!”

“No.” Jadis turned to face the soldier, “The Grimm have never retreated before, this is something new.” He narrowed his eyes, “I don’t want to be left flat-footed, now, get any men who can fight, I suggest that we prepare to fall back to the citadel.”

\-----

Jaune sighed and stared out the window next to his spot. The infirmary was still filled with soldiers, though the ones who could walk had been moved elsewhere. Outside the window he could see thousands of soldiers moving toward the citadel and taking positions on its walls, these were the same soldiers who had been on the outer wall. The claw marks and broken armor gave them away. 

From the corner of his eye, Jaune saw Blake walk into the infirmary. He smiled as she made his way toward him, “What’s going on?”

“The Grimm retreated.” She watched as Jaune went pale, “The higher-ups are using this chance to fall back to the citadel.”

Jaune frowned and turned his gaze back toward the fortifications, “I should be out there.” 

“I’m not sure if-”

“You’re looking better.” A familiar voice spoke. When Jaune turned to see who it was he grimaced.

It was Tai Yang.

“I see that the healing dust has more or less done its job.” Tai Yang smiled, “Give it another hour or two and you'll be as good as new."

"Send me back out there, I can help take out some of the Grimm!" Jaune protested.

"Even if you were finished healing, it wouldn't be necessary." The entire infirmary grew quiet and Tai turned to face them, "The Grimm have retreated into the forest," he ignored the gasps of shock and continued forward, "We have chosen to use this chance to shore up the defenses here and fall back to the citadel. We don't know what to expect, so get some rest and prepare for a fight!"

With a nod to Jaune and Blake, he left the room.

Over the next couple hours, the thousands of soldiers who were present dug ditches, set up wooden spikes, prepared catapults, and got ready for battle. Where the citadel was once a simple fortification is was now surrounded by enough fortifications to make it last through a siege against any army that would dare come against it.

The Grimm were not like regular humans, they wouldn’t retreat, they would only continue their assault until their enemy had been annihilated or until they were all killed.

Jaune, Ren, and Nora found themselves on the wall closest to the outer wall. The entire army stood still waiting for the chaos to begin, it was only a matter of time.

The entire garrison jumped at the sound of an explosion near a pile of rocks, Jaune immediately recognized it. That was the tunnel where they had come through, the same one they had destroyed. 

Before anyone could react a Death Stalker slammed through the reopened tunnel, followed by scores of Ursa, Beowolfs, and many more. 

"Archers at the ready!" Qrow hollered over the incoming growls.

Archers drew back on their bows and aimed at the countless Grimm.

"Loose!" 

Scores of arrows left their fortifications and arced over the open field before slamming into the herd. Explosions and fires roared to life from dust tipped arrows.

"Prepare another volley!" 

A massive quake shook the entire garrison and the citadel itself. Jaune turned his gaze to the wall just in time to see the gate collapse into nothing but splinters. 

Six goliaths charged toward the hole in the wall, followed by the endless wave that had chipped away at the garrison for the past week.

The citadel was now caught between the hammer and anvil. 

Jaune saw the Ursa and Beowolfs close in toward the wall, he turned toward Phyrra, Ren, and Nora. He drew his sword and grimaced. 

The citadel was engulfed in chaos. 

The sounds of fighting, screams, and clashing steel filled the air. Jaune himself cut a Beowolf off from the wall and kicked him back down. The Death Stalker was unable to advance thanks to the wooden stakes, the Goliaths didn't care and continued to push on.

That's when Jaune saw her.

On the back of one of the Goliaths stood a woman as pale as the moon, with blood-red eyes and dark veins dancing around her skin. It had to be her, it had to be Salem. 

Behind her stood a smirking Cinder, who's amber eyes met Jaune's in defiant overconfidence. 

"I see her!" Jaune turned toward Phyrra and pointed at the approaching goliaths. I see Cinder and Salem!"

Before Phyrra could respond a volley of firebolts slammed into the wall, cracks began to form and the stone beneath them collapsed. A hole had formed in the wall. 

\-----

Screaming filled the air.

Smoke began to rise, and fires roared. The pathetic defenses humanity had set up had been swept aside with little effort. From her position, Salem narrowed her gaze and willed the Grimm to focus on particular parts of the citadel. 

"My queen." Cinder bowed her head, "May I enter the battle?" 

Salem waved her hand dismissively, "take the white fang, overwhelm them from the inside out."

"Yes, Mistress."

\-----

"Jaune watch out!" 

The blonde was thrown out of the way from an ursa's swing. 

The redhead blocked the attack with her shield and sent her spear into the gut of the beast. With several more attacks, the Ursa turned to dust, only to be replaced with two more. 

"We have to hold them here!" Jaune yelled out as he cut the stomach of a massive Beowolf, "If we can't hold the interior of the Citadel, the walls won't matter!"

"Keep focus, Jaune!" Phyrra urged the blonde while subduing her enemy, "Keep your head in the here and now!" 

Jaune was thrown to one knee by the strike of an Ursa, he slashed at the ankles of his enemy but was thrown on his back by a charging Beowolf. 

He could see Phyrra struggling to defend against a group of baby nevermore, behind her the massive Death Stalker was charging toward the hole in the wall. 

He grits his teeth as the monster above him snarled, but was surprised when the beast whimpered in pain and turned to dust. 

“This is exactly why I didn’t want you to be here kid!” Jaune followed the voice and smiled when he saw Coco standing above him. She pulled the spear out of the Grimm and smiled as it turned to dust.

"Get into the inner sanctum, we'll hold here." As she said this, three other huntsmen arrived at her side. Fox nodded at Jaune and Phyrra as they made their way toward the inner sanctum. 

\-----

Nora slammed an Ursa back down to the ground. Behind her, Ren cut the arms off a Beowolf and kicked it off the wall. 

Both of them gasped for air, sweat dripped down their face and they glanced around for their next opponent. 

The entire garrison was surprised when a familiar woman landed between them. Her amber eyes shined with anticipation as she shot fireballs out of her palms toward the two. 

Nora ducked beneath the attack and Ren answered with a sidestep and a swing from his dagger.

Cinder took a step back, parried his swing, and punched the ninja. 

On her other side, Nora prepared to swing her Warhammer but was stopped when her leg gave out from a kick to the back of her knee.

She turned and frowned, "Adam." 

The Faunus smirked and readied his weapon.

Nora readied her war hammer and waited for the Faunus to make the first move.

"I've got this, focus on the Grimm." 

Nora watched as Commander Jadis rushed forward and clashed against Adam. It was clear from the many strikes Adam was making that he was more agile, however, the well made armor afforded Jadis time. 

Nora turned back to the wall just in time to throw a Grimm back down the wall. 

Meanwhile, Ren parried a strike by Cinder and flipped backward, barely dodging a firebolt. When he landed on his feet he could hear a scream behind him, a soldier was dragged off the wall. 

“I’ll admit, you're doing better than I thought you’d do.” Cinder smirked and held her palm out.

From below Ren, a sinister howling erupted, and just when Ren noticed the heat rising a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him backward. After the howling erupted in an explosion Qrow glanced at the Ninja and pushed forward, his sword clashing against Cinders.

\-----

“White Fang?!”

One of the Faunus jumped down from the wall and toward Jaune, before they could land a dagger pierced their chest and they fell to the ground. Blake landed next to the corpse of her former comrade, she stared at it for a moment before retrieving her blade and turning back toward Jaune and Pyrrha, “We need to get into the compound, follow me.”

The trio fought through the chaos, it felt as if they were wading through waist-deep water until they entered the compound. Inside was just as chaotic, a Grimm had managed to get inside and several soldiers were currently bleeding out while the Grimm disintegrated from its wounds.

“We need to get to Tai!” Pyrrha told them, “We won’t survive unless we fall back into the tunnels!”

“Tunnels?” Jaune asked.

They continued through the stairwell to the top of the compound, where Tai Yang was most likely to be. On the way, Pyrrha explained her earlier statement, “The compound was built over a tunnel leading into Vale, if we can fall back into the tunnels, we have a chance to survive.”

When they reached the top they all froze.

There was a massive hole in the wall, Qrow laid on the ground unconscious in a pile of rubble. Tai was in the middle of a struggle against Cinder, who had a cut on her cheek and was taking rapid breaths.

With every blocked or dodged strike, Cinder got slowed and Tai increased in his speed.

Cinder dropped to the floor and kicked Tai’s legs out from under him, when she pounced to try and stab him he grabbed her arms and kicked her gut, sending her out the window.

Tai got to his feet and turned his attention to Qrow, several burn marks were on his chest. With a sigh, he made his way over to his desk and pulled out a flare gun. He looked at Pyrrha, “I guess you have the same idea as I do.”

Before Phyrra could respond, Tai shot a flare up into the sky. The green smoke immediately grabbed the attention of the surviving soldiers and calls to retreat.

Jaune made his way beside Tai and stared out at the battlefield. It had all happened so quickly, where thousands once stood only hundreds retreated. Many soldiers had been torn to shreds, the soldiers outside of the walls had been run over. 

"Let's go," Tai called over to the group.

They made their way into the basement of the compound. There they were joined by Ren, Nora, CFVY, and a bleeding Jadis, his helmet having been lost 

"Glad to see that you're doing well," Coco said to Jaune.

"It's thanks to you," Jaune responded.

Tai turned toward his comrade, "Qrow, take the kids and team CFVY, we'll cover you."

A rumbling shook the entire compound and from the stairway came out three individuals. Cinder, anger clear in her burning eyes. Adam, bruised and battered from his battle against Jadis, and Salem a triumphant smirk on her face. 

"Tai…" 

Beside the blonde, Jadis unsheathed his Longsword, "Qrow, we'll hold them as long as possible. Go!"

"But…" 

Tai glanced over his shoulder, "GO!"

Neither of them watched as the group descended into the tunnel, their gaze was on Salem and her goons.

"You must realize how futile it is to resist." Salem smirked, "If you surrender-"

"Don't you think we would have surrendered by now if we wanted to?" Jadis narrowed his eyes, "Humanity will fight to our last breath!" 

"Oh?" Salem responded, "Cinder, put that to the test." 

In the blink of an eye, Cinder closed the distance between her and Tai. She swung her short swords at the blonde, who parried her attack, spun behind her, and landed a hit against the back of her skull.

Cinder stumbled forward and turned around, blood dripping to the floor, "Lucky hit." 

Meanwhile, Jadis and Adam parried each other's strikes, unable to land a solid strike. 

Salem watched the two fights with interest but narrowed her eyes at the slow swings of Adam Taurus.

Tai blocked a swing from Cinder and countered with his own, the attack had so much strength behind it that when he brought down the overhead strike Cinder lost her hold on her weapon and dropped it. 

Salem frowned, "Adam, stop toying around, finish him." 

Jadis noticed Adam glance toward the witch and lunged forward with a stab. 

The Faunus grabbed the blade in his hand and sent it in a downward strike toward the Vale Knight's shoulder. 

With a second strike, Jadis fell to the ground, limp. 

Tai charged at Cinder but jumped backward to avoid an explosion. He yelled in pain, Adam stabbed his katana into the Huntsman's back.

He stared down at the blade and took a deep breath before looking up at Cinder before falling to his knees.

"Poor human, he was such a powerful fighter." Salem slowly made her way over to the bleeding out Huntsman, "He would have made such a good ally." 

The witch kneeled and stared into Tai's eyes, "I feel obligated to know, what are the last words of the infamous Tai Yang?"

The blonde pulled out a dagger, and stabbed Salem's chest, "That's for Summer," He then spat in her face, "And that's for Ruby." 

Salem stood up and held out her hand, magic circulating in her palm "Farewell."

\-----

The battle of mountain Glenn would be one of the worst losses for Vale in its entire history, it would see the loss of tens of thousands of soldiers as well as countless huntsmen, Commander Jadis, and most importantly, Tai Yang.

A/N: thanks for reading this so far! This is the end of Act 1 of Frontier. For now, I'll be taking a break but plan to return sometime soon, have a great day and stay safe!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you and your loved ones are doing great! and as always, Reviews make my day!


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